Sable and ivory
by Marilena
Summary: Yuffie didn't know that playing with fire can get you burnt. Especially when the fire is Vincent... Yuffentine.
1. Chapter 1

**SABLE AND IVORY**

**By: Marilena**

_Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII belongs to Square Enix._

_**Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading.**_

Chapter 1

The beginning of the end

He was somewhere behind her, and she knew it. Slowing her fast walk to a halt, she stood perfectly still, trying to hear the slightest indication that he was near. There were no audible footsteps from the cold corridor behind her, and she could not detect the soft rustling of a cloak.

And that meant he was there. There was no way she'd detect his presence if he didn't want her to.

She sighed in frustration; perhaps she had gone too far.

"Next time I'd better keep my big mouth shut - **Vincent!**" She let out a startled yelp before backing away a little. She didn't like the way the soft light from the lamp above their heads illuminated his form. It made him look like a lithe, mysterious shadow.

His tall figure had been almost right behind her, his hand and claw lightly folded in front of him. _'Why does he have to be so tall?'_

"Surprised to see me?" he asked with a glimpse of irony tainting his usual dark, impassive tone.

"I- I- Well, yeah! Why did you have to sneak upon me?" she mumbled.

A dark brow lifted as his faintly crimson eyes looked at her intently. She began to shift her weight from one leg to the other, tense under the scrutinizing gaze.

"You look uncomfortable," he muttered slowly, taking a step towards her. The corners of his mouth started to lift when he noticed her become even more nervous. "You needn't be."

Yuffie shut her eyes momentarily. His voice always disorganized her, to say the least.

"Listen, Vincent, I'm sorry if I have, y'know, caused you trouble these last few months…"

He took the final step and closed the distance between them.

Leaning over her easily due to their height difference, he whispered to her ear so intently that she couldn't help the shiver that rose from her last vertebra to the back of her neck.

"Didn't I warn you…" he continued, letting his lips almost touch the soft skin where her cheek connected to her ear. She swallowed. "…about playing with fire?" Her head jerked up, and she had only a moment to finally comprehend the look in his eyes before the fire he had been talking about came rushing at her. His lips fell on hers forcefully and demandingly, making her sway, off balance, but soon the kiss softened, and she placed her hands around his neck. Strands of long silken hair caught in her fingers.

She lost herself then.

Her entire world was swirling, but all she could feel was the intoxicating sensation of his warm lips and the goose bumps from the cold texture of the wall as she pushed her back against it. She pulled him closer, and he let his mouth travel down to her neck.

There was no turning back now. They were already doomed.

How did they come to this?

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**2 months, 22 days, 9 hours, and 41 minutes earlier…**

_Riiiiiing_…

Cloud sighed in the wind as he tried to ignore the ringing of his phone. When would they leave him alone? Couldn't he even take a peaceful ride with his motorcycle anymore? Away from the city, the people. Away from himself for a while.

'_Sephiroth was right when he said he'd never be a memory. He'll always be in every one of us. He always has been…' _

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiing_…

He swore inwardly and flipped the phone open, expecting to hear Barret's heavy voice or Cid's cursing.

Instead, he was met by a low, smooth voice that could only belong to one person.

'_So, Vincent finally got a phone!'_

"I have a message from Yuffie: Get over to Barret's," the man on the other line said nonchalantly.

'_Message from Yuffie again? That girl has the patience of a five-year-old,' _Cloud thought tiredly.

"I'm on my way now," Cloud said loudly while taking a left turn.

There was a small pause before Vincent replied.

"And give Yuffie this message from me: This is my phone… She has no right to call it."

Cloud was not so startled by that request. Vincent and Yuffie were the exact opposites; everybody knew they would never get along. Well, if not "never", then at least until Vincent decided to completely let go of his past or Yuffie managed somehow to grow up.

However, the thought of Vincent asking him to give a message to Yuffie, starting with _'this is my phone'_, was amusing.

"Hm. I'll let her know!" he almost shouted, the wind threatening to swallow his words.

He hung up and continued his ride. It was not as if Vincent was going to reply.

He tried to imagine Yuffie's face when he told her of Vincent's message and the words that would follow. Something told him that they would include 'damn serious vampire' and 'teach him a lesson'.

He could not help the smile that twisted his lips. They all misunderstood Vincent. Cloud was sure the tall man wanted to live again, and, as soon as he got the right spark, Yuffie would be _very_ surprised.

The dark form and restrained manners of his friend popped to his head, along with one of the rare smirks Vincent hid under his cloak.

Cloud only hoped she would understand before she provoked Vincent too much.

Yuffie… understand? Highly improbable.

'_Oh, **very** surprised indeed…'_ His smile broke to a full grin.

-----------------------

_Please review! Suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome too!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:_

_M: Vinnie, should I tell them you're not mine?_

_Vincent: Probably… Unless you want to be sued._

_M: Oh. But... you ARE!_

_Yuffie: In your dreams, girl!_

_…_

_Vincent: M, please let go of Yuffie's hair. (sigh)_

_M: $#$!! FINE. NOT MINE. Humph._

**Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading. You rock girl! ;)**

Chapter 2

Cloaks and eyes

Cloud could see clearer than the sun that Yuffie was up to something.

He was sure it was nothing good.

As he made himself comfortable on Barret's couch, he noticed her coming his way or, if he was to phrase that more accurately, practically running his way with a dangerously evil gleam in her eyes.

'_When will she ever grow up?'_

The girl sat with a puff on the couch next to him, perhaps even a little closer than anyone would expect. That earned her a well-measured glare from Tifa. She moved away a little and asked him for the eighth time that afternoon:

"So, what did ol' Vinnie tell you **exactly**? Leave nothing out. I wanna know the words he used from his ancient vocabulary to the pauses he made, everything!"

Cloud resisted the self-shattering need to sigh like an old woman whose TV remote control had just broken while her when her favorite show was about to begin. He made an attempt at humor instead. "Why, Yuffie, are you so interested all of a sudden? The message he gave me was 'Tell her she has no right to call my phone', not 'Tell her I want to see her in her underwear, preferably red to match my outfit'!"

Somewhere in the back a shattering noise was heard, then a loud "Damn it!" Tifa emerged from the corner of the kitchen looking apologetic and startled, if not a bit wide-eyed. She stared at Cloud curiously, who simply grinned, and then at Yuffie. The ninja's face was a bright shade of the aforementioned color.

Yuffie tried in vain to control the color that rushed to her cheeks, making her look like a tomato matured well beyond normal. _'Vincent would never say that! Don't picture him saying that, don't, **don't**… With that mysterious voice, no, DON'T! I simply care for him as one would for a friend who keeps mourning and punishing himself by refusing to live again! Whoa, that was very deep, Princess of Bouncing…'_

Before she looked completely normal again, a soft knock was heard from the door.

Tifa rushed to open it, only to reveal none other than –Yuffie gasped; _did he actually SHOW UP this time?_- Vincent Valentine.

He walked in the house and acknowledged them with a short nod.

"Good evening," he said simply and headed for the chair on the darkest side of the room. Once he was sitting, Tifa approached him.

"Nice to see you, Vincent! This is quite the pleasant surprise! Do you want me to bring you anything? I'd ask for the cloak but…"

Vincent looked at the woman and shook his head slightly. "No, Tifa, thank you."

"Um, okay then! We're all very glad you came this time…" Every member of AVALANCHE in the room nodded in agreement. "I have to go back to the kitchen now, if you guys want to eat something today. Yuffie, will you come with me?"

Tifa stared at the girl pointedly. Yuffie stood up and, still a bit red, crossed the distance to the small kitchen with Tifa in tow. She desperately tried to keep her thoughts about him out of her head as she did so, but she could feel his eyes boring intensely into her red face.

Vincent was mildly interested as to why the loud ninja bowed her head and avoided his gaze. He couldn't possibly know the reason, but he did, in fact, notice that when she looked accidentally at his crimson cloak, she almost flew to reach the door.

Cloud, however, knew exactly why, but no matter how much he wanted to do so, he was sure that snickering was not proper for someone like him.

'_Hell, who cares?'_ he thought and let a grin form on his lips.

He rose and approached the dark man, deciding to ask him a few questions.

"So, Vincent, what brings you here? Did you miss AVALANCHE?"

Vincent relaxed on the chair, stretching his long legs before him. He looked indifferently around.

"I wanted to get away for a while." He glanced at Barret growling to Cid for cheating so visibly at cards.

"Get away from what?"

Vincent's eyes narrowed a little but he didn't say anything else. Cloud mentally rolled his eyes at the dark gunman's heavy attitude.

In the meanwhile, Yuffie was having a hard time with Tifa in the kitchen.

"No, Tifa, I'm not in love with Mister Darkness out there!"

"Then what did Cloud say about underwear and why did you blush, huh?"

"That is… entirely… irrelevant! I just think he needs to let go, and **I **have a plan to make him do so!"

Tifa made a sound that was suspiciously close to a snort.

"You like him."

"NO, I don't! Here's what I'm gonna do: Since I don't want to go back to Wutai yet, 'cause you know what a pain in the ass Godo would be, you don't have any spare rooms, and I'd rather die than stay with Cid or Barret, I'll try to convince him into letting me stay in his place, the new one in the center! And I'm gonna bring light back to his sorry excuse of a whimpering life! Like, literally bring life, by opening the window and pulling off the curtain!"

Tifa stared at her, expressionless. When two minutes passed and she was still in the same position, Yuffie moved her hand in front of her face. "What do you think of my plan?" she asked with a huge smile.

"I think you're crazy! He'll never agree!" Tifa tried to knock some sense into the younger girl. She personally dreaded to think about staying with someone as mysterious as Vincent for one single day, not moving in!

"Oh, I think he will. I'm going to succeed in mission _Take Vinnie Out to the Real World_!" Yuffie stated with confidence.

'_I only hope I won't start blushing every time I see his eyes or his cloak…Stupid Cloud and his stupid jokes,' _she thought, distressed by the mere thought of it.

"In that case…" Tifa grinned impishly, "…your plan begins NOW!" And she pushed a very surprised Yuffie out of the door. The girl tried to regain her balance but she only managed to fall next to Vincent and not on top of him.

She grumpily picked herself off the floor.

'_I'm not gonna blush, no blushing, no blushing, why is he looking at me like he's amused? No blushing, no damn blushing, is that a raised eyebrow?!? …Fucking blushing!"_

Fortunately, she composed herself before it became too obvious.

'_I really need to work on this if I'm going to… gasp… stay with him. I wonder if he sleeps with that cloak or- leave that thought were it is Yuffie Kisaragi! He's not smirking, is he? He can't do mind-reading, can he? Well, Vincent, if you CAN, I meant none of the things I mentioned before and I didn't imagine you sleeping nak- anyway, I didn't.'_

Only his upper face was visible –_damn that cloak!_- but she could swear he looked amused.

When he spoke, though, her jaw nearly dropped to the wooden floor. Next to him, Cloud looked like he was trying not to choke.

"May I suggest that you go back to Wutai, Yuffie. I have no need for a 'real life' and your father wouldn't be very glad if you stayed with me, anyway." He looked deeply into the frozen ninja's eyes. "Neither would I, if I were him," he muttered.

Yuffie opened and closed her mouth several times like a goldfish out of water, as various curses for herself and Tifa crossed her mind.

"I- yeah, um, sorry for that but I don't think I can go back yet. Uh, he wants me married to a guy I don't even know, ok? No going back, nope. I can't. So, could I please stay with you for a while till I turn eighteen? It's just some months away from now, really! And I'll do the cooking and the laundry and stuff!" She gave him one of her bright, pleading smiles.

Vincent pulled his face even lower in his cloak, effectively keeping his expression from showing. His eyebrows knit together for a while, dark flocks of hair surrounding his face in a messy way.

"Perhaps…" he started.

Yuffie's hope was renewed.

"But I have to ask you something first," he finished, darkly.

She looked at him expectantly.

"Will you keep blushing every time you look at my cloak?"

Cloud burst out laughing. '_Did Vincent just make a joke? I knew I shouldn't have told him that! Looks like some interesting things are going to happen in that house,'_ he thought as he watched Yuffie blush in response.

'_Someone's little plan backfired…'_

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading. **

Chapter 3

Suggestions

'_Routine. Dear old routine,'_ Tifa thought, irritated as she picked up Barret's empty plate and Yuffie's almost polished one.

Dinner was over, and all she had left now was a table practically made of leftovers and dirty utensils. The bar was a mess. She should blame Cid for that. And not only did the place look like it was hit by a ShinRa bomb, she also felt the usual melancholy of the hostess, displayed when everyone leaves after a feast.

'_Why couldn't they have stayed at Barret's place? Nooo, they wanted dinner! Now I'm tired and depressed for no reason. Damn Yuffie and her hole of a stomach…' _

Tifa slammed the pile of plates in the sink and turned the switch of the faucet to the red sign. The warm water soon became hot, and she yanked her hands away immediately. She cursed under her breath and failed to notice the presence behind her until two arms wrapped around her abdomen and she was pulled in a gentle embrace.

Cloud rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What's the matter, Tif?"

Tifa relaxed a little.

"Nothing important. I guess I don't want to lose contact with them again, what with everyone taking their separate ways now and the fact that each passing year makes it harder for us to gather as we used to…" She exhaled noisily.

"Mm-hm. But this time we have an extra reason to keep a close eye on them, don't you think?"

Tifa turned and looked at him curiously. The blonde man grinned mischievously.

"Oh, that expression on your face is never a good sign! What do you m- aaaah…" Her eyes widened in realization before she mirrored Cloud's expression.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Tifa asked.

"We'll know in 24 hours. If she doesn't make him shoot her, and if he doesn't make her jump off the railing from lack of conversation, they'll do fine. We might even have unexpected results-"

"Like Yuffie and Vincent becoming friends? Humph! Since when did you become a sociologist?!"

Cloud shook his head and wore a sphinx-like grin. "I never said they'd become friends! I'm simply guessing-"

"Oh, are you now?" She pinched his nose playfully, and he winced half-heartedly.

"Hmm… I'll help you clean these dishes, and then perhaps…" He finished the presentation of his plans in a whisper in her ear.

Tifa nodded vigorously. Things weren't bad, after all.

For her.

- ----------------------------------

'_I won't kill him, I won't kill him, no, I won't. My name is Yuffie Kisaragi, I am the princess of Wutai and a kick-ass ninja; I have enough self-restraint to stop myself from grabbing that glorious mane of his and slamming his head into the elevator door.'_ The girl stomped her foot as a small 'whoosh' sound signaled the elevator's ascent.

Vincent was standing in the other corner, still and silent as a statue, just like he had been for the half-hour that had passed since they had left the others. He cast a semi-interested look at the ninja when he heard her sounds of frustration.

Then, he resumed his usual apathy.

Yuffie sighed again.

'_Is staying with him going to be like this? Ow, I think one of us is will be dead from the other's hand within a week. If I can make it that long…'_

The elevator stopped, and Vincent was the first to get out. Without giving it a thought, he held the door open for the girl to come out. Not that it was anything really special; it was simply a reminder that he really was from another time.

Yuffie hurriedly exited the elevator, glad to get away from its annoying music. She could not help but be impressed at Vincent's unexpected chivalry, and it probably showed on her face.

"Is something wrong?" he asked mildly while taking the key out of the pocket of his leather uniform. It was never easy to say whether his tone was monotone because he was uninterested or because it was just his nature.

It really annoyed Yuffie.

"No," she answered grudgingly.

They entered the room, and she immediately threw her bag – which was filled with her weapons and a few changes of clothes - on the couch.

Vincent closed the door and strolled lazily to the kitchen.

"Are you sure?" his voice came from the kitchen, flat and smooth as always.

"You have a nice apartment."

"Thank you. Now answer the question I asked you," he said, emerging from the kitchen with a mug on his hand and his cloak folded neatly on his other arm. He didn't cast a single glance at her as he moved to the bedroom. With his enhanced hearing, however, he could hear her even from there. Another one of Hojo's little gifts.

"Well, actually, I was thinking that you'll drive me insane with your silence, and I'll become a lunatic ninja, walking around in a trance and mumbling for all eternity," she snapped.

Silence.

Yuffie knew she was being harsh. After all, he had agreed to let her stay with him. She should be at least a little grateful. When he didn't respond immediately, Yuffie started to ponder her words. Had she insulted him? She didn't know him well enough to be able to tell.

Deciding she should apologize, she got up from the armchair she had been sitting and walked to the bedroom. She peered inside.

There was nobody there.

'_What the-'_

She tentatively walked inside the small room. The bed looked comfortable, and the windows' drapes were indeed shut. Yuffie was too preoccupied with her attempt to find him to remember her plan to open every window in his house.

It was then, however, that she noticed another door in the room.

"Vincent?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing in there?" she asked through the closed door.

Then, before she could take a step back, the door opened and Vincent came out.

"I'm changing. I don't sleep in a leather uniform," he replied as he finished putting on a black shirt.

He had stepped out during the process of slipping into the shirt, and Yuffie couldn't help but stare. Her eyes wandered over what she had the time to see, and she was very excited by what was under Vincent's attire. Smooth, pale skin that was toned by strong but subtle muscle. He was thin but also very… masculine.

Yuffie could feel her face warming up.

She fought to cover it by talking.

"So, sorry for what I said before, I know I was unfair. And thank you for agreeing to put up with me. I know that sometimes I really annoy you and the others…" the tiny ninja babbled quickly.

Vincent shook his head.

"It's quite alright. Now…" he started showing her around the various facilities: the fridge, the cupboards, and the bathroom she would use. Finally, they reached the subject of sleeping arrangements.

"Tomorrow we'll get a divan. For tonight, you can take the bed," Vincent said calmly.

Yuffie fidgeted with her short hair, a wave of guilt washing over her. "I'm intruding, I know I am! I shouldn't take over your bed too! You should sleep on the bed. I'll be alright!"

Vincent started to unfold his crimson bandana. In his head, a thought passed as fast as an arrow. _'No, you won't.'_

Had she realized that what she was trying to say came out with an entirely different meaning? Apparently not. He was feeling strange around the girl, as if she could dull his pain for a while, and his feelings were more human and normal again. He could feel the urge to tease her, an urge he had not felt for a long time.

And tease her he would.

He fought to keep his eyes unfathomable.

"Are you suggesting something?" he said in a darker tone than usual and turned his red gaze on the girl, whose jaw suddenly dropped just a little bit.

"N-no, I didn't mean- I was trying to say that I should sleep on the couch…" she stammered.

"Hm. I see… But, since you are the guest tonight, I will have the couch, and you will have the bed." He neatly folded the headband and put it on a chair.

Yuffie nodded. It would be a while before she forgot what a fool of herself she had made that night. She stole a glance at the taller man's long, messy hair. He looked different without his uniform cloak and bandana. He looked… nice.

Alright, alright, he looked _great_.

"Fresh sheets are over there. Goodnight, Yuffie. Sleep well."

With a small smirk, so small it almost was not there, Vincent turned his back on her and left.

She could hear him preparing the couch.

Yuffie pondered whether she should change the sheets. The more mature part of herself told her that she should. Yet, the little girl that was also part of Yuffie Kisaragi disagreed. There was something incredibly alluring about the thought of sleeping in a bed that still kept Vincent's scent. But, then again, perhaps… An idea popped to her mind.

She changed the sheets of the mattress, but she kept the pillow as it was.

'_There. Perfect,'_ she thought, satisfied. Yes, perfect, except she didn't know where to put the old sheets.

'_The washing machine. Where is the washing machine?'_ she wondered. She didn't want to disturb Vincent.

"I forgot to tell you that the washing machine is in my bathroom," came a low voice from the doorway, causing Yuffie to spin on her heel.

Vincent was leaning against the door, his arms folded in front of him.

"You scared the hell out of me!" she choked out.

"Really? I thought you were a ninja… Give me those, I'll take them."

She handed them over before protesting.

"I **am** a ninja-"

"Is that all?" he asked, a curious gleam entering his eyes.

"What?"

"The sheets…"

"Ah, yeah. That's all," she said, hoping he wouldn't notice what was missing.

"Okay," was his reply, before leaving.

Yuffie felt relieved. Only…

He paused and added as an afterthought, "Although, I would have sworn that last night I had a pillow case…"

And this time he shrugged and really left.

Yuffie didn't see his small grin, and she could not have known that his dreams that night were, for once, free of demons and memories. All she knew was that she was very embarrassed, and she hoped that the 'Operation: Pillow Case' was worth the trouble.

Only when she had hugged said pillow and buried her face in the soft material did she admit to herself that the faint scent of bitter almond and something she couldn't quite place was certainly worth it.

Her last thought before finally giving in to sleep was, _'Judging by tonight, tomorrow will be one hell of day…'_

And she was looking forward to it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading. **

Chapter 4

The old and the not-so-senseless-after-all

(Or: The young and the really-mindless-after-all)

The pink cloud made another quick swing towards her. Its weapon was a sword like a glowing thunder, and Yuffie knew that if it hit her, she would be tickled horribly again. She dodged the attack, moving her body to the right and ducking her head at the same time. The pink cloud let out a mocking laugh before it changed into a huge cigarette with a pale face and a blond thing hanging from his mouth that looked suspiciously like Cid.

"No, you vile thing! Let him go!" she screamed at it but was caught unaware when she felt a wave of smoke burning the back of her unprepared throat. She started coughing uncontrollably, while the cigarette went on a fit of evil laughter. It raised its hand, and suddenly Barret flew in front of her from out of nowhere, dressed in a ballet dancer's costume-

"NOOOOO!!!!"

Vincent appeared in the white setting and everyone else immediately vanished except for the cigarette, which only left after letting out a puff of smoke that formed clearly with thick letters '_Muwhaha_'…

Vincent came closer to where she was lying, panting, and leaned over her.

"Yuffie…are you alright?"

"Did you see that c-cigarette?" She sniffed loudly.

"The what?"

"THE CIGARETTE that was smoking Cid… A- and Barret with the ballet u- uniform…"

"I think you must wake up, now."

"It's not a dream, Vinnie! It was real, it even left a puff of smoke behind," she waved her hand uncontrollably towards the smoke that now wrote '_Tick tock, Yuffie's a bomb_' and started to tug at his shirt. "See?"

"Yuffie, wake up!" he said, more intensely this time.

"It's not a dream, I'm telling you! Why don't you believe me?" she said, pouting.

Only it was a real pout. It didn't suit her cheery face.

Before he could stop himself, he slowly traced her bottom lip with the tip of his finger. It was only a shadow of a touch but it was enough to make her eyes widen. Vincent quickly backed away. "There is breakfast ready and it's time for you to get up, Yuffie…"

----------------------

Yuffie's eyes snapped open and she bolted upright at once.

Vincent was close but not as close as in the dream. He was fully awake, while she had just awoken from one of the weirdest dreams she ever had. Especially the last part… And she had a tendency to murmur in her sleep, much to Tifa's dismay. That didn't bode well.

"Vince. What's up? Nice morning, huh?" She tried to straighten her 'bed hair' back into some sort of 'human hair' and sound nonchalant at the same time.

Vincent got up from the corner of the bed.

"You must have had a weird dream…"

"What makes you think so?" she was fast to ask. Was she really talking in her sleep? Had she said something about the last part of the dream?

Shudder.

"You were mumbling absurdities about Cid, Barret and a cloud with a sword," Vincent replied indifferently.

"Ah."

'_Good then…' _she thought. "…he didn't notice," she muttered.

Oh.

Boy.

Vincent stopped his retreating steps.

"I didn't notice what?"

He looked at her in the eye, and she began to squirm.

There was no getting out of this one. She had done it to herself.

"How am I to phrase this?" She acted like she was thinking for a while but the expression on Vincent's face could easily compete with a wall, solid and pressing. "In my dream you came to my rescue and you insisted I should wake up and you- uuum, well, nothing. It's just weird; you showed up in my dream to tell me to wake up! Heh, my mind is being a shit processor again. Nothing to worry about." She flashed him a famous, toothy, 'Yuffie' grin.

"A-ha. I see it was an… interesting dream. But it's time to go shopping, so hurry up."

With long strides he exited the room, hiding his mild relief and confusion.

Relief because the young girl considered his attempts to wake her as a part of her dream and confusion -great confusion- at his own action.

-------------------------

Nothing had happened after two days of living with Vincent. He was calm and slightly indifferent towards her, even getting to the point of avoiding her sometimes. At least it wasn't as torturing for her poor hormonal body as it was at first...

Yuffie stepped out of the warmth of the shower and grabbed the towel. After she carefully covered herself with it, she looked at the mirror. Through the blurry pane, her reflection stared back. She made a few faces and swayed her hips seductively.

'_Not bad… Although he wouldn't probably notice even if I stripped down to lace bra and panties in front of him! That dead woman of his must have been really special.'_

Sometimes, thoughts that begin as light-hearted end up leaving you with hints of bitterness. So, Yuffie took hold of the brush and started to untangle her hair with vigorous moves, trying to ignore the unfamiliar feeling. After all, _Yuffie_ was synonymous with hyper and joyous, not cold and bitter.

When she tried putting on her clothes however, she came face to face with a problem. She had forgotten to take with her in the bathroom a new change of clothes; she had only brought the underwear. Wearing the old clothes was out of the question; she had just finished a shower, for Lifestream's sake!

She put on the underwear and secured the towel around her, praying Vincent was not in the bedroom.

She peered out tentatively. Nobody was to be seen. With her hopes high, she got out and made a run for the wardrobe. Now, where had she thrown her stuff the previous night? It must have been the second drawer.

She thought she heard something. Either Vincent was coming her way or her super ninja ears were playing tricks on her.

She opened the drawer and frantically searched for her black shorts and orange tank top. She could see no orange during her mad search, but she did find a pair of black shorts and a grey top she had not remembered she owned. A victorious 'aha' almost escaped her lips, but then Vincent's voice echoed from behind her, and she froze.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked flatly.

Talk about uncomfortable… She didn't dare to turn around, nor did she have the courage to put on the garment that hung from her hand.

"Trying to um, decide what to wear…"

"In my bedroom, half-naked?"

She peeked at him from the corner of her eye. He was looking at her head, fortunately. Of course, he had had enough time to watch if he wanted to… Which he probably hadn't, but Yuffie deemed it secure to hold the towel tighter around her torso.

Vincent fidgeted just a little.

'_Bad move, stupid girl… Hey, down, hormones, **down**!' _she thought.

"He-he… You see, I forgot my clothes before I went to the bathroom, so I came here for my shorts-"

Vincent's eyebrows rose, and he lazily tapped his chin with a long finger.

"Hmm… But **that** isn't yours," he stared pointedly at the black piece of cloth, "and I'm fairly certain it's not shorts, either."

Ever felt like you wished the ground to swallow you in one piece with a loud 'buuurp'?

Yes? Well, so did she.

Next thing she knew, the 'shorts' were on the ground as well as Vincent's shirt and she was in the bathroom, cursing the ground for its lack of appetite.

Vincent picked up the cloth and put it back in his drawer. A faint grin formed on his lips. So, _this_ part of him wasn't dead after all… He would have to behave himself in the future. Although he doubted that he would have to set her some rules about not moving around in his house wearing a towel, since Yuffie had apparently been taught this lesson already.

Living with Yuffie was proving to be harder than he had thought.

'_Literally,'_ a small voice in his head hurried to add.

------------------------------------


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading. **

Chapter 5

Bitterness

Two years ago he was drowning in the darkness of dreams full of pain cutting through his flesh and mind, misty hazel eyes filled with pretended guilt and the sick laugh of a scientist.

Then, there was light burning his long-unused eyes, and he was awoken by a bunch of mismatched people that was trying to save the world. Weird, right? Yet he joined them, staying as detached as possible and protecting them from his no longer completely human nature. He had to protect his own heart from the life these young people reflected as well. Fights, intrigues, love triangles, secrets… he felt alone and left out, a demon in all reality. It hurt more than the darkness he had suffered, more than the solitude of a coffin with only the fleeting presence in his head of what _she _and her husband had put inside him. The cold truth was that he, Vincent Valentine, the former leader of the Turks, was a man whose heart felt like it was surrounded by tons of compressed cotton. His heart was nothing but a distant, faint presence.

As time passed, he grew accustomed to the team's loud and noisy company. But after the Meteor business was over and the world could 'happily live ever after', everyone took their separate way. He unsuccessfully tried to sever _any_ ties he had with them. However, when the right moment popped up, Vincent was there once again, with them. He was there _for_ them. He had saved Cloud and helped defeat the Sephiroth remnants. His humanity was hanging from a thread, and he did all he could to hold onto it. It worked. Everything went well, and the world was safe again.

The problem popped up when he tried to distance himself from the others for the second time, and the problem was that he couldn't anymore. Not because anything had changed on their part- no, it was he who had changed. The beginning of this had occurred during a random night. A vision from the woman haunting his past, a phone call from Marlene and Denzel, requesting to visit him, and a lot of thinking resulted in him taking a significant turn in his life.

Lucrecia was a dead woman, no matter how much he had wanted to deny it in the past. She was also the one who had betrayed him in the shadiest and bitterest way possible. How indirect of her…

Her love for him had been false.

Vincent wasn't a saint in his first life, but he had loved. Even as a Turk distinguished for his murdering skills, his heart would flutter at the sight of the young scientist jogging lightly in some dusty corridor, folders in hand, and flashing him a hesitant smile. And later, he would feel the urge to hold her tightly and possessively in his arms during the nights they spent together. Until, one day, his frail dream was violently shredded into pieces by the hands of a madman. _And she had complied._ His Lucrecia, who was never his to begin with.

When Fate allies with Irony and they both laugh sarcastically at you, it's a cruel thing.

Vincent hadn't forgotten. He couldn't. He had simply chosen to ignore **her** share of the blame.

Too many years had passed. Too many demons had consumed his brain with guilt.

It wasn't entirely his fault; he could see that more clearly now.

So, one night he decided to pay a visit to those people from his recent past who still wished to regard him as a friend – although, for the life of him, he couldn't understand why - and he was met with their utter surprise. What stirred some forgotten well of life inside him was the fact that their bemusement was a _pleasant _one. He was wanted there.

It felt good.

That was enough for him at the moment, since he was determined to let go, slowly. There would be one step at a time.

Or so he thought.

Unknown to him, there was a ninja who wanted to drag him miles at a time with a shouted "Screw slow!"

One by one, his past tortures were truly being forgotten. In time, he would become a normal man again, _but_ Vincent wasn't ready to open up completely yet. He didn't trust himself enough to wake up one morning and turn the page in the book of his life just like that.

Time. Time was the key.

Yuffie would have to understand why he had to distance himself for a while.

Oh, and, needless to say, the ninja wasn't happy at all.

-----------------------------

She would take _no more_ brooding.

The entire last week – after the unfortunate bathroom incident from Hell - he had been avoiding her like the plague. He was still courteous and yadda yadda but gone were the shudder-bringing suggestions and intense crimson glares… It was almost as if he was purposefully restraining himself from saying anything more than 'Good morning', 'Excuse me', 'Lunch is ready', and 'No, thank you'.

She was beyond upset.

Yuffie Kisaragi was fuming.

She got up from the divan and crossed the dimly-lit room. The sun had set a few minutes ago. In her mind, Vincent would soon want to be with it on the other side of the world.

The book he had been reading for the entire evening was sent flying into the kitchen door. Vincent stared openly at the young woman, bemused. Nobody had dared to do that to him before.

He clearly demanded an explanation.

He was rewarded with a combination of furious gray eyes and wild hands as Yuffie nearly yelled at his face.

"Alright, do I have some dreadful tropical disease I don't know about? Or perhaps, a virus version of the Geostigma or-"

Of course, he knew this was coming. "No," he interrupted her.

"Then why the _hell_ have you been avoiding me? All the words you've said to me during a week are the basic vocabulary of a one-year-old. Do I really bother you that much-"

"No."

"THEN, DO YOU MIND TURNING OFF THE ONE WORD RESPONSE MODE AND TALK TO ME? We were doing fine when I first came here! Now, why do you have to go all 'Mystery-Man' to me and treat me like you can't stand the sight of me?" She ceased her indignant gestures and looked at him sadly. "Have I done something to insult you?"

Vincent sat up in his chair, sighing. "Yuffie, it has nothing to do with you. All I need is …some time," he hesitated; she wasn't going to like this. "To myself," he added.

Her jaw clenched.

"Are you asking me to let you become miserable again?"

"I must sort some things out in my mind."

"No, damn it, I won't leave you alone as you clearly want me to! I'm worried for you. _W-o-r-r-i-e-d._"

"Don't. It's not worth it," he muttered flatly.

He didn't need to look at her to know she was infuriated. But when no sharp response came from her, he gazed at the petite ninja. She wasn't gesturing frantically or glaring at him with steam rising from her ears. Instead, her lips were drawn to a tight line, and she had her fists clenched at her sides.

"She is **gone**, Vincent. Why don't you let yourself live for a change?" Her voice came out strained.

Why? Hmph. Could a teenage little girl get anywhere _near_ to understanding his psyche? He felt slight annoyance at her useless persistence, and he was tired. Yes, he was too tired of these things already. He didn't want **Yuffie** reminding him.

"You won't understand. Don't trouble yourself with these things." His tone held finality.

She felt an unrecognizable emotion boil up inside her. She fought back the tears that formed in her eyes.

Yuffie wouldn't understand. Yuffie couldn't understand. Oh, but, of course! Because Yuffie was an immature child and, sure enough, kids don't understand the problems of the grown ups, do they?

Why did she suddenly feel like gripping his shoulders and shaking him violently? Why did she want to desperately wake him up?

There was no point in this conversation. Whether she was talking to him or not made no difference, because _Vincent_ – her mind spat the word - treated her like a giggly ten-year-old who was sticking with him in order to make him buy her some extra chocolate ice cream.

Logic eluded her. For a moment, she only felt like a big, outstretched zero as the realization hit her that she would never be taken seriously by her friends or anybody else.

She was never one to keep her emotions in control, not to mention that such strong feelings were uncustomary for Yuffie Kisaragi.

_Emotion overloaded 98 per cent… _

_99 per cent... _

_100 per cent... _

BLAST!

"You think I'm not worthy enough to contradict Your Highness? Then fine. **KEEP ROTTING**. **She** won't care, **I** won't care, _NOBODY_ will care," she hissed fiercely, the tears running freely down her now rosy cheeks.

As she hastily left the apartment, crying and slamming the door hard, she never saw Vincent's carefully controlled, vacant expression or the loud crashing noise a little afterwards.

She could imagine it just fine.

--------------------------------------

**_Three hours, 3 drinks and 5 shots later…_**

'_What a nice bar,'_ Yuffie thought merrily. _'They have such wonderful napkins! Yay for napkins!' _

She wondered why that jerk also known as Vincent didn't let her come here three days ago. But she – if she remembered correctly - had found it a fantastic place to drink down her anger.

'_Hmph… Dangerous, my ass. Besides, I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi! I looove danger. I DIE for danger, I-' _HICCUP.

Yeah, well, what if she was a wee bit drunk? Would Big and Broody spank her?

She snickered ridiculously. A few people from the surrounding stools looked pointedly at her but she ignored them, lifting the glass to her lips.

She lifted it higher but nothing happened.

Blurry eyed, she fixed her gaze at the bottom of the glass and found it empty. She giggled and flipped it over, sticking and unsticking the rim to her palm.

"You want another one of that, girlie?"

"Huh?"

"The drink… My treat. Such a pretty _woman_ shouldn't have to pay for her drinks when there are self-respecting men around…" A guy with short blond hair and an easy air about him spoke from the stool on her right. She could swear he had somehow miraculously appeared, since he hadn't been there a few moments ago. Or had he…?

Nah, who cares?

She pondered his offer for a while. She could picture the terrifying frown of Vincent if he was ever aware of this. She smiled goofily at the blond man. Vincent would be furious. _'Then perhaps he'd show some emotion! Wow… A true history-writing moment!'_ she thought.

It was settled, then.

"Sure," she shrugged.

The man grinned in a lop-sided way that distinctly – and funnily - reminded her of a wolf. He exchanged a glance with the bartender, who didn't look very happy… Just for a moment, then it was gone, and the short, chubby man quickly reached for the right bottles.

Was she imagining things? It must have been all the drinking; these mixes could be quite strong sometimes. Never mind that she wasn't supposed to know this, being underage.

The blond guy with the weird grin took the drink from the bartender's hand and put it in on the wooden surface of the bar in front of her.

"There ya go! Enjoy," he said pleasantly. His hair, a dirty blonde color, covered part of his eyes as he looked at her expectantly.

The distracting euphoria of alcohol took control over her senses, and she drank the contents of the glass in almost one gulp.

'_Take that, Vinnie…'_

You know how they say that one of the most common symptoms of adolescence is that one often does something incredibly irresponsible that will hurt oneself while thinking that it will hurt someone else?

Well, the saying is partially correct, according to Yuffie. Because, betraying his trust would _really_ hurt Vincent, and that's what she wanted.

Right?

A thick fog settled over her mind, and her vision became a twirl of colors.

_Right?_

Didn't she want to make him become miserable if something happened to her and add more burdens of guilt to his conscience-?

Oh, mother of fuck.

She didn't. Her eyes widened and she vaguely registered being pushed forward. A door opened and a cold breeze of night air made her cheeks redden a little. With each step she took she could feel her legs give away and various parts of her body stop responding.

She suddenly felt a jolt of panic. And regret. How could she be so stupid?

'_Vincent…' _she thought feebly.

She made out four figures approaching her as she fell paralyzed on the dirty backstreet. It was too late at night, and the odds of someone passing were against her.

She knew this could happen, so why, oh why did she accept that drink? The blonde moron had probably slipped her a mickey – something with paralyzing effects, obviously.

She was alone, and the four fuzzy figures were next to her now. She couldn't talk, couldn't move, and couldn't fight. She could only **stare**, and not too clearly at that.

And she had made quite sure that Vincent wouldn't look for her.

Yuffie, for the first time in her life, felt completely, utterly defenseless.

Fear, white and black and gray and every color she had ever seen crept inside her. The iron grip on her heart, blocking it from beating, felt nauseatingly like her own.

Hands moved over her exposed skin greedily, groping and pinching and-

_Click._

The safety of a gun was pulled.

She opened her previously tightly shut eyes.

The barrel of said – large - gun was pointed threateningly at her would-be rapists.

A deep voice, barely containing its fury, rumbled, "Hands. Off. Her. **Now**."


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I have to say a huge thank you to all of my reviewers. This chapter is my favorite so far, I hope you will like it as well._

_The lyrics throughout the chapter belong to me, so the copyright is also mine. ;) The poem is called Enigma and I'd be very glad to learn what you think about it too. _

**Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading. **

Chapter 6

The unknown factor

-------------------------------------------------------

_Dusk._

_Hope is trembling pitifully and the world is soon to crush._

_Bits and pieces all around, holding a promise to cut._

_Can your faint presence save me from the abrupt dash?_

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

Serious fights among men usually follow the same pattern. They begin with tentative punches to the face and walking in circles, while watching each other. Then, one of the two parties involved (usually the offended one) leaps and immediately chaos ensues. Shoving, arm-struggling, kicking; that's all part of the game.

Yet, there are exceptions. For instance, if the offended man is Vincent Valentine, holding a gun almost as long as his arm with three barrels, known as Cerberus, and the men it is currently pointed to have their hands roaming on _little someone's_ bare hips and abdomen –and going up, as he barely registered with an eye twitch- then things are **ugly**.

And they are about to get uglier.

His hand was surprisingly steady and his naturally strong-looking jaw now looked like it was glued to the upper part of his head.

True, he was many things. Ex-Turk, assassin, monster. He had even done things in his life whose remembrance strengthened his belief that the demons in his head were a well-deserved punishment. He had committed crimes that could make strong fighters like Yuffie and Tifa have nightmares. But rape was _never_ one of them.

The mere idea infuriated him.

And, unsettling though it was, in the case of Yuffie he was beyond infuriated and more near the edge of giving in to Chaos. He currently had to fight back the huge tide of energy that urged him to tear the bastards to pieces or turn them into a big, dirty lake of human pulp. He felt so wrathful, seeing the ninja so small and completely defenseless at the moment, being tainted by the hands of this scum. He didn't want to think of what could have happened had he not arrived in time. Because, for fucking Planet's sake, he couldn't bare having her touched by them or anybody else.

Huh?

'_That was a stray thought. She can be touched by whomever she wants… But not unwillingly.'_

His eyes wandered to where she was lying still, looking at him obviously relieved. There was dirt on her nose and her shirt was lifted to her ribcage. She was… vulnerable. He felt a small pang in where his heart and strongest human emotions used to be.

'_Anger…'_

Even though he had originally stridden there with every intention to drag the wandering ninja back and scold her, the image he was met with in the small alley made his blood run cold.

He gritted his teeth. If glares could kill, they would be in the torture chambers of the hottest pit of Hell already.

The four men that had frozen at the sound of the growled command, almost wetted themselves at the _actual_ sight of the imposing dark-haired man. The one who was the furthest away from him, made a move to flee, panic engraved in his pale green eyes.

**Bang.**

A shot in the leg.

Vincent's gaze on them was burning. Two twin crimson lights glowed faintly in the dark. The injured man clutched his leg and squeezed above the open wound in his calf, not managing to stifle the loud gasps of pain emerging from his throat.

Vincent took a few heavy steps forward, his expression –and his gun- silently telling the terrified chickens before him that he wasn't exactly happy.

Namely, he was Royally Pissed.

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

_Enigma,_

_Stranger with a name I like to utter,_

_Lover with no right to call my own,_

_Blind pain and joy, blood and ray of light to hold on._

_There I see it, in its eerie, shaky glory._

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

Yuffie could only watch as Vincent holstered back Cerberus and proceeded to attack hand to hand or, better, claw to hand. She couldn't help thinking that the way he was clutching his jaw, if he accidentally bit his tongue, he would cut it like a piece of ham.

What a pity she couldn't laugh at the image. She was still paralyzed.

And Vinnie looked so majestic and beautiful, as he concentrated on his blows. Not that there were any formidable opponents among her attackers. Hell, if she hadn't taken that drink, she would have taken them down on her own easily.

But really, she felt a tiny flutter somewhere near her stomach, as she watched him fight, his strong, harmonically arranged features set in a determined and grave way. So totally Vincent. He had only been striking for only a couple of minutes, before all four of them were unconscious on the ground, but she had the illusion that it had lasted for hours.

It was then that Yuffie had an epiphany.

If Vinnie was to be the savior, she actually didn't mind being the damsel in distress!

'_At least this once… Better not forget my general Yuffieness.'_

Yeah, besides… lesson learnt. If only she could show him how sorry she was.

She noticed that Vincent was looking at the pained bodies on the ground in distaste. They weren't dead, because he had somehow restrained his blows to be painful but not fatal. Yet, Yuffie realized that she didn't want them dead. She just wanted to get out of this place and go home, even if she had to eventually face Vincent's scolding for her actions. She would face it. As long as she was safe and at home with him, everything would be alright.

'_But better not tell him that or he'll freak out. Oh shit, he probably thinks of what a nuisance I am and I'm sure he regrets that he agreed and-'_

And she felt like crying. He wouldn't let her stay with him anymore. He'd stare at her disapprovingly and say in his coldest voice: "I have no time and patience for kids like you. Go back to your father."

Somehow, a small whimper escaped her numb lips. Her tear-filled eyes were fixed on his tall form, as if willing him with the force of telepathy to forgive her stupid antics.

Only… she knew she had no right to hope. Everything she had said and done was horrible. Plus, she was shaken to the core and unable to move a finger. The aftertaste of despair was still present in the back of her throat.

She was a _mess_ and if she could, she would have kicked herself. Hard.

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

He released the vicious hold of the blond guy's neck and the man fell noisily down on his knees, gasping for breath.

In the meantime, Vincent, not even breathing faster than normal, surveyed the damage coldly. All were on the ground, one was shot, two were unconscious, and the last was barely breathing.

'_I'm getting soft,'_ he thought wryly.

Still, he would have killed them suite after, were it not for a tiny whimper from the direction of Yuffie.

Turning around, he eyed the girl and his expression softened. He walked next to where she was and kneeled on her right.

He noticed that there was the faintest movement on her pale lips.

'_So, the effect is wearing off…'_

However, her eyes were still wide in fear and, when he half-lifted her limp body and rested her head on his elbow, confusion entered their dark depths as well.

Her weight was nothing compared to Cerberus, but the warmth from the back of her head and the thick chocolate brown locks seeped to his gloved human hand and the parts of his arm where the leather sleeve was pushed up. There was sweat on her brow and in small, shining droplets on her eyebrows and under her eyes.

But, no, wait. These looked more like tears.

Vincent, frowning, gently removed the bangs that fell on her already feverish face. With his claw, he carefully rolled down her shirt, avoiding contact with any of the creamy skin exposed. He saw a muscle or two starting to twitch, in her face and neck.

She was staring at him strangely. He felt that somehow she was surrendering herself to him, completely trusting him…

Vincent was afraid that continuing that thought at the moment would be hardly helpful, so he discarded it.

Her lips parted and she immediately struggled to croak something.

He leaned in, but all she managed was a small "Vinnie".

Some sort of dark humor flashed briefly in his eyes.

'_Some things never change…'_

But it was time to get the young woman home, so he took off his cloak and threw it on her, as he placed his claw under her legs and scooped her up, holding her close to his tall frame.

After all, it had been a close call, he thought as he set off.

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

_For a moment,_

_Before my clouded eyes the veil is gone_

_I can smell your aroma,_

_Drown in your soothing silence,_

_Listen for all I'm worth._

_You hold the door open,_

_I crawl in your broken shelter,_

_And for a moment I am whole._

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

She couldn't believe what was happening. She felt so drowsy and the whole thing so unreal that she wasn't exactly certain if she was awake, dreaming, or dead and gone to Paradise.

Not only had he skipped the lecturing and abandoning, he was actually carrying her back home in his arms. She was nestled somewhere between his upper chest and shoulder, distantly hearing his steady heartbeat. If she moved her head a little upwards, she could see his pale neck, Adam's apple and all, and if she tilted it a little back, she'd be looking straight at the corner and lower part of his jaw. She was glad to see it was unclenched.

In a daze, she distinguished under his chin a small scar, from a wound long ago healed. It was white, even in contrast with his skin. Not thinking overly clearly, she complied with the weird urge that suddenly emerged from somewhere deep inside her. Lifting her head, she brushed her lips over the small mark, and then parted them slightly to leave a short-lived kiss.

Vincent stiffened as he felt a very warm dampness under his chin, where he knew one of his many scars to be, a reminder of his days in the employment of ShinRa. Two soft, moist lips were burning his skin. Then there was a light breath fanning on his neck.

The little hairs in the back of his neck stood up in attention and very, very disturbingly, other body parts wanted to follow. He had to stop for a while and shut his eyes to keep his concentration. He definitely hadn't been expecting something like that. His sensations were assaulted in what could only be described as an almost violent way.

For an outsider, the situation would have been comical. There stood frozen a man with tightly shut crimson eyes, golden claw, pointy golden boots and red headband, with a girl in his arms as limp as a log, in the middle of the night.

But soon he regained his composure and Yuffie realized what she had done, for awkwardness had resumed around them.

However, he didn't push her away. If possible, he tightened his grip, always careful not to stab her with the deadly claw.

"Tomorrow we'll talk about what caused you to-" He stopped abruptly and peered over her, thoughtfully. He recalled the order in which her body parts had started to work again. "They slipped you a pill, am I correct?" he asked, hurriedly.

"Yes. How do you…" she trailed off, too worn out to finish.

"It… was part of the Turk training, to know about drugs."

He frowned suddenly and muttered to himself, "Pes-9B".

"Hn?"

"Let's go home and… I'll tell you about it tomorrow morning," he said unsteadily.

It was so unlike him that Yuffie felt a little worried.

Long, long strides… Soothing heartbeat… Thump thump… Thump thump… Warm, muscled body…

Slumber…

It wasn't much later that he had lain her on her bed. The room was almost dark and he figured that she had already fallen asleep. Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose wearily.

He was turning to leave when Yuffie suddenly reached out and grabbed his belt.

Awkwardness?

Nah, scratch that.

An Aurora magnetic phenomenon.

"Yes, Yuffie?" he asked her warily, eyeing her hold on his belt uneasily.

She looked abashed and quickly retracted her stay hand to rest it on her chest. She was self-conscious but too damn tired to blush. As if the blood would comply anyway.

Fighting back the overwhelming need to sleep, she said, voice as earnest and sincere as she could muster, "…Sorry, Vince."

He nodded, pitch black bangs falling messily on his forehead and eyes.

His soothing baritone was the last thing she heard before sleep took over.

"Sleep well, Yuffie."

_----------------------------------------------------------------_

_Sinner, Saint, Enigma,_

_Don't say a word, just look._

_Look at this,_

_Your handiwork…_

_It is Dawn._


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I'm glad you liked the poem and the chapter. How about this one? It's a bit naughty but I think Vinnie's quite IC. Tell me what you think!

Φιλιά! ('Kisses!' in Greek.)

**Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading. **

Chapter 7

The benefits of documentaries

Yuffie was never a morning person. Either because she couldn't bring herself to depart from the lovely coziness of her bed or because it was harder for her head to give orders to the rest of her body, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that people usually jumped out of her way when she woke up cranky like this.

Still, she was surprised at the feeling of complete exhaustion and nausea that greeted her when she got up the next day. She could hardly manage to put her feet on the floor. Not to mention that she walked like a broken marionette.

Stumbling with half-closed eyelids to the bathroom, she ran a hand to her hair that turned out to be drier than normal. When she looked at said hand afterwards, she spotted some sort of grayish dirt staining it. She made a disgusted sound and leaned closer to the mirror above the sink.

She gasped.

"Er- looks like I've turned into some sort of a… monster," she whispered in awe, before evaluating the extent of the damage.

Her hair was a dirty bird's nest and there was more dirt on her nose and brow. Her eyes were red, the swollen skin under them having turned a faint blue-black color overnight, in contrast with the pale shade of the rest of her face.

"Yikes! What hap-"

Ah, yes.

It took her a moment to completely recall last night's events but, when she did, she sighed deeply.

Bitch fight with Vinnie? Check.

Drinking Midgar's alcohol supplies? Check.

Almost giving a field day to four sex-starved bastards? Check.

Be saved and get carried bridal style by my knight in materia-made armor? Check.

Well, sort of.

_'…Vinnie's much better anyways. And materia-made armor is out of fashion.' _

Nearly grabbing Vinnie's unmentionables in attempt to catch his attention? Check.

_'Leviathan, kill me…'_

Apology to Vinnie the Hero? Check.

Have hot sex in bed, bathtub, couch, on floor, washing machine, kitchen table, and against wall with Vinnie? Check.

…Just kidding.

'_And I seriously need a shower. As in seriously, seriously, seriously, seriously, seriously-'_ the ninja thought, as she threw away her dirty clothes and quickly stepped into the shower…

…Only to fall clumsily on her rear and slam her head against the blue tiles.

"Owwww… not again, dammit!"

------------------------------------------

Vincent heard the noise and the loud exclamations of pain that indicated the newest addition to Yuffie's 'accident list'.

He shook his head, lips pursed and trying to withhold a small grin.

'_Yuffie… She has a strange and unique effect. You often think you'd be better off without her, while at the same time you want to keep her safe at any cost,' _he mused as his sipped some tea from a delicately patterned cup from a set he had found himself inclined to purchase, even though it wasn't the plain, everyday one he had gone to the store with the intention of buying. Impulse, impulse… Since when did Vincent Valentine act on impulse?

He glanced briefly at the clock; it was past noon.

Pouring the rest of the cup's contents in the sink, he threw the small slice of lemon in the trash can and resumed washing the empty cup, before drying it with a towel and placing it next to the rest in the cupboard. He slowly walked to the living room and decided to sit down on the couch. After a few moments of crossing his legs and getting comfortable, he turned on the TV. There wasn't much of interest, so he ended up watching a documentary about the feeding and breeding procedures of penguins. He tilted his head slightly to the side, eyes watching the screen in interest.

Hey, if you're doing something, then do it right. One thing Vincent had learned well was that there is no such thing as useless knowledge.

It wasn't much later when Yuffie emerged from the bathroom, rubbing her dripping brown mop of hair with a towel and walking as if she had just finished building ShinRa Manor on her own, equipped with only pebbles and a shovel. She flopped ungracefully on the couch next to Vincent and groaned audibly when her bones protested the sudden movement.

She rested her feet on the coffee table and turned to face Vincent. He was watching the TV screen, deeply absorbed and absent-mindedly scrubbing at his jaw with one long, pale thumb. At least he didn't wear that cloak. _'They should ban the purchase of cloaks that hide the lower face of such fine male specimens… It's a crime! Injustice! What the hell is he watching anyway?'_

Yuffie stared at Vincent, then at the screen. Then back at Vincent.

She blinked.

"Vinnie, I know how thirty something years of not getting any can reaaaaaally affect a man, but why exactly you are that fascinated by the sight of a fat, ugly penguin banging another fat, ugly penguin in order to have more fat, ugly little penguins and in what looks like a very uncomfortable position is beyond myself," she blurted out.

It was Vincent's turn to blink.

At first, he didn't avert his eyes from the TV, but didn't look like he was watching either. He shifted in his seat and uncrossed his legs. He slowly turned his face towards Yuffie.

She was looking at him with wide eyes and a hand clapped over her mouth.

"Sowy," she said, in a state of panic.

"Excuse me?" he deadpanned.

She removed the hand from her mouth.

"Sorry," she repeated.

Vincent just quirked an eyebrow.

After a few moments of uneasy silence, he spoke.

"You know?" His voice was low as ever, but there was an unusual tone underlying. Despite the dark, deep quality of it, his voice normally didn't express any emotion.

So, this was odd.

"What?" she asked, totally clueless as to what he meant.

"You said that 'you know'," he said cryptically. His eyes were twinkling and there was one of those tiny, 'Vincenty' smirks on his face again…

'_I know how thirty something years of not getting any can reaaaaaally affect a man…'_

_Good one, Yuffie._

In times like this, she felt like a dork.

"I don't **know**, per se… I can imagine, you know? In theory. Not in-in reality… Good, old theory. The kind they teach at school. Not that they taught us anything like that at school but you get the point…" she squirmed and looked at everything in the room that wasn't his big, mysterious eyes, which were currently scrutinizing her.

'_GODDAMN you, Vinnie, for being so hot… And I just took a shower for crying out loud!'_

"AHH, will you look at that? It's an ad break! B-e-a-uuuuuuuutiful! Look, look!" she exclaimed, her ears turning red. "Will you stop looking at me and look at all those amazing ads?! Oh, is that a dancing hippo? Vinnie, you don't wanna miss this, it's not everyday you see a hippo dancing the cha-cha and I'm not saying that you woke up wanting to see a hippo dancing the cha-cha or the macarena or whatever but now that it's in front of you, why don't you give it a chance and oh, ICE CREAM! Don't you just looooove ice-cream, and the awesome creamy taste it leaves in your mouth, I mean **yuuuuum**!" she babbled and she made a show of licking her lips.

In a way, she had accomplished her goal. Vincent was no longer piercing her eyes with his.

He had focused on her lips, instead.

And man, was he looking hungry.

"V-Vinnie? Vinnie, dear, it _is_ lunch time. And I know; big man hungry. But big man not eat Yuffie. Cause Yuffie not tasty. W-wanna go to that lovely Wutaian restaurant-"

Vincent got out of his stupor and immediately became the Vincent everybody-knows-and-loves.

With a small throaty noise to show his agreement, he changed the channel to the news.

But not before he crossed his legs.

"Is there something wrong with your legs, Vinnie? You keep crossing and uncr-"

"No," he interrupted abruptly.

Why was he being weird?

He cleared his throat.

"Go get ready. We're having lunch out… I forgot to mention that Tifa called while you were asleep. She said someone important contacted and she needed to talk to you about it. We're meeting her and Cloud in an hour."

He turned off the TV and got up.

Yuffie jumped and ran to the bedroom.

"Did she say what it was about?" she yelled.

Vincent hesitated. He didn't want to upset her without knowing any details. But since she asked…

He put on his blood red cloak and buttoned it up.

"Wutai," he replied evenly.

- ---------------------------------


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Here's a long chapter for you! I know most of you want the serious Yuffentine action to begin, but we have to brew it a little first, ne? Rest assured, I won't leave you without 'the scene'. ;) Thanks for the reviews, please don't forget to tell me what you think of this chapter too. There are some... plot developments here. He he.

**Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading. **

Chapter 8

Turning point

They had an appointment with that important ass person in three quarters, and they were still _eating_.

Here she was, worrying over her respected country and nervously arranging the food on her plate in piles and circles and rhomboids, and not only had time decided to _crawl_ like a slug, but Tifa didn't know to tell her even who the guy was or what was wrong with Wutai.

She only said that Reno had called to arrange a meeting with the important dude and the princess, _'concerning a matter of crucial importance, diplomatic tactfulness and all that jazz'_, as he put it.

She was tapping her foot maniacally on the wooden floor, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Vincent, seeing as his chair was next to hers and undoubtedly the vibrations she was sending his way where those of a small earthquake.

He motioned discreetly at her to stop.

She offered him one of her finest fake smiles and stopped the nervous habit, taking a bite of her food to get herself distracted. However, her movements were fast and abrupt, so the food on her chopsticks was soon decorating her lap.

'_#&$#,' _she glared at the offending heap.

"Are you alright, Yuffie? You seem a bit, well, _very_ nervous. You don't have to worry; I'm sure everything will be okay with Wutai! Reno probably exaggerated as per usual," ever-caring Tifa said.

"I'm fine, just fine," she grumbled in reply, trying to clean her dark brown trousers.

She took another bite, carefully this time.

The little Wutaian restaurant was rather good, even for a girl who was brought up as the sole heir to the throne and was consequently treated only to the best gastronomical options her country could offer.

But that was before she was sent by her father to the wilderness in order to _'gather'_ materia that would _'restore Wutai'._

Because gastronomy is the last thing on your mind when you have beasts big enough to use you as a toothpick for their _actual_ meal chasing you around.

'_Not that toothpicks are bad,' _she thought, playing with one on her right hand, _'but I'd rather use them, not be used as them, thank you very much. And you shut up, Chocobo boy, I don't wanna hear about the new developments in motorcycle engineering! '_

She wanted to groan, or drag out Vincent by the collar and leave for Wutai, or ask Tifa if as a teenager she had her boobs removed and replaced by oversized balloons, or throw her plate in Cloud's face. She wanted to be spared the boredom of eating in a corner table for six in a small packed restaurant, with Cloud talking about all that manly-man stuff with Vincent, – although nothing of the… _other_ sort - and Tifa mooning over her beloved I-look-like-I-was-just-hit-by-thunder-and-my-name-is-ironically-Cloud boy.

Okay, perhaps he was cute in a way, but he was certainly already taken. And she really didn't feel like meeting Tifa's fist anytime soon; Reno said it was rather painful.

Vincent watched her fidget and bite her nails out of the corner of his eye and decided it was probably time to change the subject and include her in the conversation. He waited until Cloud had finished his sentence, and said:

"So, how's everyone faring?"

"They're all fine from what we hear. Nanaki is in Cosmo Canyon with scrolls up to his big, feline nose. Barret and Marlene are okay, and he brings her to play with Denzel every Sunday. Reeve's face is probably glued to a computer screen, even as we speak. And Cid and Shera… are on their honeymoon," Tifa supplied for them, smiling.

The last comment caught the ninja's attention.

"On their honeymoon? But they got married three months ago!" she exclaimed, her inquietude momentarily forgotten.

Tifa giggled a little.

"Oh, you know Cid! He had problems with the ship again, and he told her to wait until it the engine was fixed…"

"He didn't!"

"Yes, he did… But they _eventually_ went on their honeymoon," Cloud confirmed, glancing at Tifa in her casual, form-fitting clothes with what could only be described as a conspiratorial gleam in his mako-enhanced eyes.

She grinned prettily and looked at her golden boy in adoration.

Vincent cleared his throat.

Yuffie felt that she was missing something.

Just as she turned to ask Vincent about it, she noticed his gaze wander behind Tifa's back and focus on something or someone thoughtfully.

She blew her bangs out of her eyes and searched the crowd for what he was possibly looking at.

She found her.

Yes, _her._

A tall, middle-aged woman with light brownish hair that mixed with gray near the roots was heading towards their table, her eyes never leaving Vincent.

Everyone stared right at her, with the exception of Cloud who would break his neck if he tried to do so directly.

"Hello…" Tifa said kindly, a hint of a question underneath.

The woman, whose face was well-preserved but still looked aged enough, stopped staring at Vincent for a moment and told Tifa just as courteously, "Excuse me for approaching uninvited like this, but… is that you, Vincent Valentine?"

Vincent nodded, after a moment's hesitation.

She was next to him now.

"Of course, it couldn't be someone else…" she said softly, her scrutinizing gaze lingering on his strong, fine features and raven hair that stuck out in every direction.

Yuffie watched his eyes narrow, trying to search his memory, and then widen.

Behind the wrinkles and the white hairs there was a face from his past.

He stared at the woman unbelievingly.

She smiled wryly. "Thirty-five years… Thirty-five years, yet _you_ haven't changed a day…" she said, her voice a little thick, possibly from years of smoking.

"Aileen," he acknowledged her.

She chuckled weakly.

"That's me. You do remember me after all… I guess six months is quite some time, right Vincent?"

"…Yes," he looked uncomfortable now.

Who could blame him? It was quite the shock for him.

He remembered her faintly, but it was an entirely different image he had in his head.

All those age lines and spots, and the form, tired and slouchy… Time is cruel.

Nothing to do with the fresh, stylish secretary of all those years ago.

Before Lucrecia… When he was a whole man, with the dangerous mask carefully slipped on. Turk. Bringer of death with an angel's face.

He didn't need this now.

It was most unsettling; she looked almost in her sixties, while he still looked in his late twenties. Her eyes were hard and cutting thought him.

He frowned, realizing how she must feel. Cheated by time and fate, having to face a young, handsome man she had an affair with, the man that still had the aura of buried secrecy around him, mixed with something else, something potent like sulfur on her nostrils. She'd never know what it was. He'd never forget what it was.

Being dead and brought back. Being rejected, slapped, when you were most confident. Trying to get rid of the anger burning inside you, eating you like an inferno of regret and pain. Trying to embrace life again and learn the world anew, stumbling with your emotions like a child; a man with too many threads of his past caught on him.

Eternal youth was harder than she'd ever imagine. She had no reason of envying him.

Everyone was watching the silent exchange, but nobody spoke.

Until Yuffie decided she didn't like the hardened expression on Vincent's face.

"Vinnie, are you alright?" she whispered, placing a small hand on his arm. He averted his gaze from the woman to briefly look at her. His expression, cold at first, relaxed a little.

"Everything's alr-" he began, but the woman interrupted him.

"_Vinnie?_ How lovely, I see you still like them young and pretty. I'll admit though, at first I thought she was your daughter," she guffawed.

Not waiting to see Vincent's reaction, Yuffie jumped out of her chair and closed in on the taller woman, eyeing her in disdain.

"Hey! Drop it, alright?"

Aileen cast a sideways look at the man.

"Oh, aren't we feisty. Should I tell her exactly how much you can take care of your self, Vincent?"

Yuffie glanced at him quickly, and immediately felt her cheeks flame in anger for the woman. How dare she walk in like this and remind him, tease him… Just when Yuffie had started to break the icy exterior.

"Leave him alone!"

"Why, little-" Aileen opened her mouth to retort with something that didn't bode well for Yuffie, and the ninja stomped her foot, ready to just push her away or yell.

Vincent was quicker though.

He was up in an instant and in front of Yuffie.

"Some things are in the past. Where they _belong_," he said stonily, daring her silently to continue with her sentence.

She got the hint. With a mocking bow of her head, she began to leave their table for where a salt-and-pepper haired man and young pregnant woman were waiting for her.

"Careful, Valentine, and don't break too many hearts this time around," she threw over her back, sharply.

Everyone watched her back as she left with mixed emotions.

Cloud was stunned, Tifa was worried, and Yuffie was still annoyed. Vincent… well, it was hard to tell.

Yuffie felt a hand on the small of her back, pressuring her forward a little.

She looked up, straight into Vincent's twin pools of blood.

"Come on," he said, guiding her forward to her seat and sitting next to her. She tried to hide her excitement and, at the same time, disappointment that his hand was no longer on her middle. It was a little cold, but thrilling at the same time, as she could feel every single one of his fingers and his palm on her skin through the thin shirt. It had brought her goose-bumps. Physical contact with Vincent was a rare occurrence.

"Um, that was… episodic," Tifa said with a nervous smile, trying to lighten the atmosphere up.

Of course Yuffie was too preoccupied with thoughts of Vincent's hands and how exactly they would feel on her without the layer of the shirt to notice him studying her.

"You didn't have to intervene," he said finally.

Cloud and Tifa exchanged an apprehensive look.

"Huh? I know that. But I… felt like doing it," she replied shyly.

"…"

He was staring in outer space.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" she gasped.

It took him a moment to digest this and answer.

"No… I'm not."

And he meant it. He just had a lot to think of at the moment.

"Oh, goodie," she said, smiling as brightly as ever.

Vincent found her goofy smile to be slightly contagious, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards in his usual subtle way. Feeling something inexplicable for a moment, he postponed the unpleasant thoughts for later, and instead focused on the young woman who was chatting vividly with Tifa.

The urge to act on impulse was there again, persistent like a bird tapping on the window.

Cautiously, he rested his hand above her knee.

Yuffie choked on her water.

This couldn't be, right?

Her eyes traveled from the place where his hand was lightly _'sitting'_ on her knee, up to his arm, neck, and finally his face.

In time to see him control his tiny smirk.

"Thank you," he said smoothly.

Then, he turned his attention back to his plate, as if nothing had happened.

But something _had_ happened.

If her mind couldn't believe it, then she'd have to take the tingling of the nerves on her left leg as testament.

Cloud looked cockily at Tifa.

'_You owe me fifty gil,'_ he mouthed.

She was too excited to care and made a mental note of interrogating Yuffie.

And squealing with her.

----------------------------

"Alright, guys, is this the rendezvous place?" Yuffie asked, taking in her surroundings. It was a small park, with a few benches against the only big trees, two beautiful oaks. A bunch of children where playing a short distance away, what looked like a variation of hide and seek. There was some chilliness in the air, even though the sun was bright and the sky clear.

She found the place to be refreshing and calming on her stretched nerves… The same nerves that Tifa apparently wanted to crumble with her mischievous glances and teasing remarks.

"This is it, yeah. Yuffie, would you like me and Cloud to leave, perhaps…" the brunette asked, waggling her eyebrows at Yuffie, her back turned on the two men, so that they wouldn't see.

Yuffie elbowed her lightly on the stomach.

"Tifa! He's **watching**!" she warned, through clenched teeth.

True enough, Vincent was leaning against the trunk of the tree, seemingly watching the passers-by, but Yuffie was sure that he was listening to the conversation with interest. Hell, she could even imagine his ears twitching like an alien in one of those sci-fi films.

Albeit a very handsome alien with a sexy voice and long-fingered, slender hands that made her body way too… responsive.

"But it's such a sunny day and Vincent might feel very _hot_ in those clothes of his, but you see, he might be shy with me and Cloud around-" Tifa insisted.

"TIFA!" the ninja whined, burying her face in her hands.

Tifa snickered, throwing her long hair over her shoulder in an elegant motion.

Cloud winked at her, and suddenly pointed at the entrance of the park. His expression changed as fast as lightning.

"What the-"

It was none other than Rufus ShinRa in his wheelchair, and Tseng of the Turks was pushing it.

Yuffie watched with increasing disdain as they came closer and closer, the wheels making an annoying 'whoosh' sound on the pebble trail.

"This can't be good," the ninja muttered to herself. When was the last time Rufus had made a move without any hidden motives or purposefulness?

The noise stopped, and the two men faced the company, their expressions not giving away any hint about what this unusual meeting was about.

"Good evening," the blonde man said, as hawk-like as ever. "I trust you didn't have to wait long?"

Tseng emerged from behind the wheelchair and stood next to his president. His height and long raven hair reminded her of…

'_DUN DUN DUN… Vincent. Damn, I see him **everywhere**!'_

"You might as well quit the formalities. What do you want?" was Cloud's unfriendly retort.

The young man smiled knowingly, thin fringes of hair shining as the sun fell on them.

"Straight to the point, I see." His tenor voice was cold. Then again, when was it ever something else?

"What do you want to tell me about Wutai?" Yuffie piped up as aggressively as she could muster.

Rufus tapped his fingers on the arm brace of his chair and exchanged a look with Tseng.

"Many years ago," he began, "as you already know, my father's company started a war against the military land of Wutai. Your land, Princess Kisaragi," he said, addressing Yuffie.

"It was a war smeared with the blood of both our parties. When Wutai finally succumbed to ShinRa, it was nothing more than a weak village. Thus, it became the tourist resort you accuse it of being," he continued coolly.

"And how do **you** know that?" she exclaimed, biting the inside of her cheek and dreading his response.

"Because your father told me," he smirked, watching the girl's face bleach. "Wutai is getting stronger again with each passing year, and we wish to create a bond with it in hopes that our previous mishaps will be forgotten. It's in our best interests to form some sort of… alliance that will benefit all of us. As you can probably guess, we have already negotiated with Lord Godo. He has given his consent for the forming of a joined ruling for Wutai."

"I've heard of ShinRa's _'joined rulings'_ before," Vincent spoke for the first time.

"Mister Valentine, I'm afraid you have no say in this," Tseng interrupted. To Yuffie, he sounded dignified but colder than Vincent, since his voice lacked the comforting inner rumble.

Vincent glared at the man.

Rufus chuckled slightly and everyone's attention was back at him again. "I'm sure you understand the terms of the arrangement, Miss Kisaragi. You are to co-rule with a ShinRa deputy. The only acceptable means for that, according to your tradition, is marriage to a man of your country, a pure Wutaian. And we have _just_ the man…" he finished, still smirking.

Four dumbfounded sets of eyes -in various states of disguise- rested on the blank face of Tseng.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Special thanks to Novocain for beta-reading. **

Chapter 9

Humidity in the air

_The little girl is scared. _

_There is smoke and huge fuss outside her window. Some women cry, some men curse. The worst are the high-pitched screams that get cut off abruptly, signifying the descent of yet another victim into darkness. Her parents are out there; she knows they are fighting with their people, another straw to stand against the storm._

_Wutai has been attacked by ShinRa._

_There are guards in the entrance and the interior of the pagoda, and she has seen the five elite members of the imperial warden squad standing outside her door. She wraps the kimono tighter around her tiny torso and shuts her eyes. She covers her ears with rosy, soft palms in a vain attempt to lock outside the world she knows –and the ignominious the death of it._

_Funny, really. She can't even spell 'ignominious' yet._

_I-g-o-m-i-n-o-u-s._

'_Mama, mama,' she keeps thinking. It is a mantra of sorts. A loud explosive sound, muffled but still loud for her young ears, startles her and makes her childish arms shake violently. Never in her five years of life had she known, or even suspected, that such a terrible noise could exist. _

_She notices a small, yellow insect flapping its wings near the expensive ceiling. _

_Trapped._

_And the terrible reminder that it was springtime when the dark brown soil of Wutai got soaked in more than rain._

'_Mama, where are you?' she whimpers to herself._

_Hours pass, tears fall, eyes dull..._

_The door bursts open and there stands her father, striving to collect his breath. He is covered in glistering blots of blood and the unnervingly sweet scent of sweat fills the air, right after his arrival. She runs to him, wanting desperately to hug him and feel him real and solid under her insecure touch. _

_But no. _

_No hugs today for you, Yuffie Kisaragi. _

_He holds her at an arm's length and swallows the lump in his throat._

"_Papa?" she asks innocently._

_No replies for you either._

"_Papa? Is Mama alright?" she insists, shaking him weakly._

_He pulls away from her grasp abruptly and his breathing becomes strangely ragged. He looks away._

"_W- what is happening? W-"_

"_She's gone," he whispers, before wiping angrily at his dark brown eyes –not gray; so unlike his wife's and his daughter's- and fleeing._

_She backs away from the open door._

_I-g-o-m-i-n-o-u-s._

_Before, she was scared. _

_Now, the little girl is terrified._

_- ------------------------------------------------------------------_

Vincent often blamed irrelevant, trivial things for his swinging moods.

Today, the little culprits were his clocks. Both of them, the one in his kitchen and the other in his living room, just above his head.

_Tick tock, tick tock._

A cacophony of ticking, echoing provocatively in the silent house.

Who wouldn't be annoyed?

Yuffie hadn't uttered a word ever since they arrived, a very uncharacteristic thing for her to do. In times like this, he understood why people were unnerved, even frightened, of his taciturnity. You had no idea what could be going on in the other's head, what sort of turmoil was disrupting his soul. Scary, indeed.

The girl had been clearly unprepared for this particular turn of events, as were all of them. However, Vincent used to be very involved with ShinRa and, back in those days, he was well aware of the machinations that propelled the corporation to become the colossus it once was.

And, now, in the most recent act of the youngest ShinRa president, Vincent smelled danger. Wherever there was power, there were always claims. And whenever there were claims, ShinRa was known for using any means available in order to win.

What was it he had said? _'Wutai is getting stronger…'_

The gunman didn't like this one bit. For, if Wutai was gaining power, it would be a perfect place for ShinRa to be re-established. It would be solid ground, a base of sorts, especially needed after the huge blow the company had received two years ago.

The question was… why would her father, Lord Godo, agree?

If Wutai's economy was faring better, there would be no profit for him or the country by giving away their independence.

Wutai didn't need ShinRa. Lord Godo didn't need ShinRa.

'_And Yuffie doesn't need a husband,_' he thought gloomily.

There was, in fact, no reasonable explanation for the attitude of Yuffie's father, although he was rumored to be a strict man, one of those whose actions –unlike Vincent's- were governed by logic.

He had a bad feeling about this whole situation.

He sighed softly and set off for his room, where Yuffie had chosen to retreat to, numb and rigid, not an hour ago.

He wished Tifa and Cloud had stayed and regretted telling them that he could handle it. Perhaps Yuffie needed a woman to talk to, or a leader like Cloud to help her gather her courage.

Not his _silence_…

He didn't want to further upset her, and she didn't look like she wanted company. Tifa was a very frustrated by the fact that Yuffie wouldn't reply or even acknowledge their presence somehow. Cloud, on the other hand, knew there was nothing they could do from their position. He merely made Vincent promise to call, when the ninja had calmed down. They still had no idea what how they should handle this.

He stopped behind the door, hesitating. He feared that his presence would only make matters worse.

But, a strangled sob from the other side convinced him to throw caution to the wind, and simply enter, after knocking and waiting briefly for an answer that never came.

She was on the floor, her back against the dark wood of his bed and the ribbon she used for her hair a wrinkled mass on her hands.

He saw pain. It was reflected in the way she hid her face behind her knees when she heard him, and the choked breaths that interrupted the silence regularly. He felt a weight in the air, like thick humidity on a summer noon. He knelt before the young woman, letting his eyes hide behind bangs of hair, and not speaking. He didn't attempt to comfort her, or come any closer; he knew he had to wait until she sought him on her own.

A few minutes of immobility passed, when she suddenly jumped towards him, her round, youthful face dripping with tears. He caught her before they she made them tumble backwards, but he wasn't able to keep his balance. He lost his footing and fell on his back, wincing as he felt a vertebra or two protest. He got up quickly and rearranged his headband, which was quite the feat with Yuffie trying to strangle him with her hug. He sighed and rubbed his lower back, then hesitantly began stroking her short hair. She was a pleasant weight on his lap, not quite like a child he wanted to protect anymore, but more like a flower he didn't want to see get trampled on. Her sobs subsided, and her deft fingers became entangled with his shirt, where she played with the fabric absently, wreathing it around her pointer finger and then backwards again.

"I- I don't… understand… why…" she whispered, hoarsely from all the crying.

Neither did he, but he couldn't say that, could he?

"I'm scared… and he won't be there for me… again," she continued, a fresh set of tears running down her cheeks. He wiped them away before she could blink, unable to stop himself and unable to watch the normally cheery young woman, drown in tears.

He didn't question her last confession. Every family had deeply buried secrets, and the Kisaragi line was no exception.

"Your father must have had his reasons."

She hit him lightly in the chest, making a nasal nose that he thought was protest. She sat up and looked at him squarely in the face, not bothering to control the reflections of her fleeing emotions –or not succeeding in her attempt.

"Reasons? Reasons! These people **killed** my mother; these men destroyed his life and took away from me both my parents," she burst out.

"Godo is not your father?"

"Biologically, of course the old ape is my father! But was he my dad when I most needed him and he turned his back on me? Was he my dad when he sent me out to steal materia, endangering my LIFE? Was he- mfffgh."

He had put his finger on her lips, firmly keeping her mouth closed and successfully interrupting her rant.

She glowered at him, the effect stronger with her eyes red and swollen.

"I see," he said, retracting his hand. "Old ape?" he teased.

"Oh, come on! It was him I called that, not you! Even if he is... er... kinda... younger than you," she said lamely.

He pursed his lips, "I admit I find your reasoning rather... original," he said, faking bitterness.

She smacked him against the chest again.

"I must go to Wutai. I am SO not marrying that dude," she said defiantly, completely breaking the spell of sorrow that had befallen them.

Vincent nodded and got up, offering his hand to help her.

She sat on the edge of his bed, seemingly watching the design of her shoes, but in reality waiting for…

"…Do you want me to accompany you?" he asked, after a while.

'_YES, YES, YES, YES, SWEET LEVIATHAN, YES!'_

"Um… sure, why not?"

- --------------------------------


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hello! I'm back from the dead, or, in reality, my exams. Thank you for your wonderful feedback and 54 favs! You brighten my day. :)) I know it was a long wait, but this chapter is smaller than usual, and merely a filler. Think of it as a small break before and after the heavy stuff. I promise, though, that the next chappie will be extra fat and plot-filled. In the meantime, enjoy!

_Thanks: To Novocain for beta-reading._

And don't forget to tell me what you think!

Chapter 10

Calm before the storm

The wind was always cold and salty in the heart of the ocean. It brought to her ears the sound of the waves against the prow, a musical synthesis as rough and unsteady as it was primitively real. As long as she could dwell in the chambers of her imagination, enhanced by the mystic night scenery, Yuffie could almost ignore the slight numbness in her legs from the long trip on an uncomfortable boat seat.

It was one of the things people never expected of her. Yuffie the Brat enjoying the tranquillity of a sea travel? Cid would probably say "Cut the fuckin' crack." In reality, she didn't like the monochromatic evaluation. It meant she rarely could enjoy her trip to La-La Land, where fantasy about a thousand materia, valuable shurikens, and Vincent in a bathing suit became real. However, with Vincent taking a nap on his seat, she could stop trying to annoy someone and either watch him sleep, which got tiring after the first four minutes of absolute lack of change in his expression, or just relax and gather the fruits of her more than active, colorful imagination.

She gave a cheshire smile to no one in particular as she became absorbed with her current day-dream. It was about her being a slave – skimpy outfit and all - who was forced to work as a materia dealer by her ruthless boss – who looked kind of like a Reno and Barret-when-she-called-him-a-marshmallow crossbreed - and was saved miraculously by a mysterious vampire knight with long, dark hair and burning eyes.

Who could _that_ be…?

She was laughing loudly at her own joke to herself when a sudden movement from Vincent's sleeping form caught her attention. He sat up and fixed his headband, which had moved a little on the one side while he was sleeping and made him look like an evil pirate of sorts.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty."

He took a moment to fully wake up, and then he graced her with an apathetic look, copyright Vincent Valentine.

"Where are we?" he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.

"Uh… in the middle of the ocean? But, hey, now that you mention it, I think we've been going in circles! Doesn't this wave look familiar to you?" she said loudly with an exasperated look, wrapping her hands around her middle.

When he didn't seem like he was going to reply, she dropped the act. Getting him angry with her would do no good, after all.

"See that dot over there?" She pointed at somewhere in the horizon.

He nodded.

"It's not part of your dialogue. It is Wutai," she said, flashing him a grin and digging out of one of her many pockets a small plastic bag. In closer observation, he saw it contained chocolate cookies. He eyed her suspiciously as she undid the knot and started munching at one loudly.

What else was in her pockets?

A lemon pie?

An axe?

A pet moose, perhaps?

"Where did you get those?" he asked, in the end.

"Oh! I made them!" she said proudly. "Want one?" she offered, sticking the bag under his nose. He quickly turned his head to the other side. He didn't really trust Yuffie in the domestic aspect.

'_That smell wasn't bad, though…'_

Temptation, damn it. He hadn't eaten cookies in years.

"Could you be any more random?" he asked suddenly, trying to maintain his dignity.

"Excuse me? Is that all you have to say? Fine! I'll eat them myself," she exclaimed, eating another cookie. "Mmmm… Grandma, your secret recipe is so kick-ass!" she muttered, closing her eyes and loving the rich chocolate sensation in her mouth. "Mmmm…"

Vincent stared at her, lips only slightly parted.

"I never knew sea gulls could carry materia," he observed out of the blue, looking casually at a place near the railing.

Yuffie's eyes snapped open at once. Mumbling to herself, she leaped out of her seat and started looking around.

"Where?"

She scanned the area around the boat, but she could see no sea gulls. Disappointed, she came back and grabbed her cookies from where she had dropped them.

"Are you sure you saw that?" she asked the silent man next to her.

"Hm, not entirely."

"Oh - Huh? When did I eat all these cookies?" she muttered, puzzled. There were only two left of her total of ten. She shrugged. "I must have been hungrier than I thought."

"We're approaching Wutai. You should pack - " He stopped, looking at her pointedly. Yuffie's gaze was fixed on his… lap. "Yuffie? Is there a problem?" he asked, getting uncomfortable.

The girl stretched out her hand, coming closer and closer to-

He grabbed her hand, and struggled to control his facial expression.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

She jerked her hand away and, in response, carefully collected something from his lap, which she raised for him to see.

Cookie crumbs.

_'Shit.'_

"You nasty rat bastard!" she shouted in a wounded voice. "You tricked me! You - you - "

"Ate your cookies?" he said dryly.

"YES!"

"I apologize."

"Well… duh!" She gave him a push, her gentle way of saying they had almost arrived at the docks of Wutai. Vincent watched her bounce in anticipation as the boat approached the port slowly, bringing them closer and closer to confronting Yuffie's father, or, as he distinctly feared, to Yuffie bickering with her father.

As if on cue, he saw her jump off the ship and shout, "Hello, Godo, the Yuffienator is here. Kya ha ha!"

It looked like he had every reason to fear.

Vincent rolled his eyes inwardly and followed after her, but not before putting the forgotten cookies in his pocket.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I dun' own nothin', yo! (Barret included.) Thanks to Novocain for beta-reading and to all of you for reading and reviewing. Your support is tremendous and it quite literally feeds my motivation to write! I can't wait to read your comments and/or constructive criticism. :)

Chapter 11

Locked Horns- Part One

Wutai had always been sunny and exotic, and these two facts made it a pleasant district for visitors from all over the world after the war with ShinRa had ended. Travelers usually came either on their own or in packs, united by a common sense of dress that would simply scream "I'm a tourist, please steal my money" if only it had a mouth. They were different, yet the Wutaian people had gotten used to their presence, light and multi-colored as it was. It was hard, therefore, for the locals to be shocked by the appearance of foreigners who walked the streets of Wutai.

This morning, however, was special; women exchanged curious glances and fishermen stopped in the middle of arranging their nets to look at the newcomers, a tall man in crimson and the runaway princess of their land. She was exactly like they remembered her - and most of them knew her well, given that they had watched her grow up, offering her treats and a kind word when, little and jolly, she roamed the streets of her birthplace. Perhaps she had grown up a bit, but she remained short and generally flat (although, it's not like men, especially, dared look in depth; she _was_ their princess after all).

Wherever they passed, the mismatched couple attracted everyone's stares like a magnet. And the tension among the crowd of silent watchers kept building up, as Wutaians collectively held their breath and waited for something to happen: a bell to be rung, a soldier to come.

* * *

"Pssst, Vince! That old man with the big hat was looking right at you... And this one at four o'clock, you see him? Bulky, three dewlaps, thick moustache? Right. He's ogling you like you're a _steak_. You know, I think he f-a-n-c-i-e-s you," she whispered conspiratorially, as she tried to catch up with his long strides. 

She stole another glance around. Her country was the same like always. It looked the same. It smelled the same. If the distant odor of raw fish didn't make her queasy, she could have very well been nostalgic.

"Hey, slow down, not all of us have freaky, _mako-powered_ legs!"

Vincent started walking even faster, if that was possible. It was apparent he was ignoring her constant nagging so as to leave the center of Wutai as fast as possible. He was a man of the shadows; being stared at like that was complimentary only for someone attention-seeking, like Yuffie. He wished he had a corner to hide into. And a cup of strong coffee. He really needed one at the moment.

"Do you reckon they are talking about _me_?" she asked gleefully between huffs.

"Yes," he replied not as enthusiastically.

"Ooh, heh heh. I knew they'd still love me; they always did - this way, Vince." She took a turn on the left and they continued walking down a smaller, narrow street. "But I never expected they'd be lightning-struck! They must think I'm so cool-"

"Or why have you made such a sudden appearance, who is the man walking next to you, and what's going to happen on the inside of that pagoda," he finished, pointing with a movement of his head at the five-story building in the distance.

"Wow, it talks," she said, eyes wide for a second, but then her expression changed to a pout. "But you're _no_ fun!"

"I never had time for such luxuries."

Yuffie pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on the scenery around them. Never had she seen in her numerous journeys a place where the green of the trees and the red of the buildings co-existed in harmony. One would expect they would clash terribly, but they didn't - not in Wutai. That was another thing for her to ponder in the faraway forests and deserts of their planet.

"I guess I had more time on my hands than I could handle," she admitted quietly. "But I wish you weren't always such a Drama Queen, Vince. I mean, _honestly_, spending time with that Da Chao statue over there is usually more pleasant. And let me tell you something, that dude is made of_stone_."

They were now in the path that led to the imperial territory where the pagoda was. The fauna in this area was denser and wilder. Yuffie felt a small chill scrambling up her spine like something spidery. She closed her eyes and tried to think of daisies and shiny-new shurikens, of Barret in that awfully funny costume and of anything else she could use as a safeguard, but she could not laugh. And she could not fight it.

So it won. She opened her eyes and a flashback of seeing the same trees fleetingly while she ran in full speed towards the Da Chao Mountain hit her like a huge rock straight at the chest. _Pant, pant. Sob. Pant, pant, pant. Whimper. _

_Mom…_

_Kick. Scream._

_MOM!_

_The little girl's screams rent the air. A couple of birds from the branch of a lonely tree nearby fly away with a flapping of their wings. Time is a shred cloth at her feet. She tries not to choke from the lump on the inside of her throat. Her eyes are watery and tingling from the cold. It feels like a thousand needles are striving to penetrate her round, childish cheeks. There are dead bodies at the foot of the mountain, but she ignores them; she doesn't even see them as she gives in with no-one to hold her as breaks down-_

And then Vincent's hand was steadily on her arm, his deep, haunting eyes searching her own.

She blinked once, twice to clear her gaze from the bleakness, and looked away. He didn't ask her what was wrong – classic Vincent, but she was grateful for his silence this time - yet he maintained a close distance as they resumed walking. Yuffie was sure he was occasionally checking her face for signs that she was still having unsettling thoughts. But she had already shut that part of her brain out firmly, leaving _Ol' Merry Yuffsters_ to return in all her rotten glory. It was a technique she had undoubtedly mastered.

"We're almost there."

"Are we?" asked Vincent somewhat sarcastically, his head tilted at the side.

"Yep, Mister I-Know-Every-Fucking-Thing. This is my hometown and I get to make all the dramatic announcements, like 'We're almost there', 'Brace yourselves', 'I swear they'll pay for this', and 'Godo is gonna throttle me'. Capito?" she challenged.

"Fine," he said, looking around indifferently. "Besides, everyone knows that the comic relief says night-night first."

"HEY! Whah? Did you just speak like a normal person? For the love of Leviathan!" She bounced in front of him, trying to block the way, only to quickly return at his side when he didn't even slow down.

"If by normal you mean ridiculous and childish."

Ouch. Touché.

"…Did you just call me childish? If there is one thing that you know I_hate-"_

"Would you kindly stop repeating yourself?" Vincent's voice rang a tad bit louder than normal.

Yuffie felt a small wave of adrenaline surge through her. Goodie, goodie; a pointless fight just for the sake of it, because she had annoyed the hell out of him. Or because a bee was buzzing in his ear. Or better, because they both suppressed too many things and talked about nonsense all the time.

Anyway, it was the perfect prelude to her encounter with Godo.

"Oh yeah? Why? So that I don't _**bore**_your Majesty?" The ninja girl tripped on a fallen twig and caught his cape so as to not fall dead flat on the ground. There was a slight chance her father wouldn't be thrilled if she showed up in his palace mud-stained and bruised.

"Yuffie… stop doing that," he scolded her.

"Stop doing what?" She looked up with bright, innocent eyes.

"Wiping your hands on my cape," he said in a deadpan.

"I was merely holding it because I'm so _enamored_by you that I simply couldn't resist the temptation of touching your torn, chocobo-smelling and unwashed-since-Ifrit-was-a-cute-little-fireball cloak," Yuffie said, refusing to back away from their current argument.

'_Really now, he is so… insufferable at times. And, come to think about it, there is something terribly wrong with both of us. Why can't we just have a normal conversation, a normal day even, without any dizzying emotional status changes? We behave like teenagers! NO, I'm eighteen and I don't count as a teenager anymore. No, I don't. Not, not, not, not, not! Shut up, Yuffie. Am I talking to myself? Gaia, Gaia, I'm talking to myself, and I bet tomorrow I'll be hearing voices, and the day after it –gasp!- I'll be seeing the pale, freaky woman with uncombed hair and ragged clothes in the mirror, and - wait… that'd be me. Oh, crap. I _am_ still a teenager!'_

"Wake up."

Yuffie snapped out of the charming conversation she was having with herself quite abruptly.

"Sorry, Vince, you were saying..?"

"That my only worry was of different nature," he repeated.

"I'll just pretend I understood that."

"Let me rephrase: I was worried you'd steal anything you could put your hands on."

The way she could see it, there were two options. 1) Take it literally and play offended. 2) Take it the Yuffie way and have some fun. She examined both choices carefully; a group of six soldiers was coming their way. Vincent was in Intimidate Mode, but the soldiers with the Wutai uniforms didn't falter. They'd soon be there. If she could just take advantage of that and- _Nyuk nyuk nyuk! We have a winner!_

Okay.

Easy one.

"Oh, yeah… You're speaking out of personal experience, is that right?" she wondered loudly. "Like yesterday, when you stole my delicious, handmade chocolate cookies and ate them in secret. Don't think I didn't see that creepily perverted smirk of satisfaction after you_devoured_ them…"

The soldiers - within hearing range for quite some time - stared at the tall man, some in wonderment, others trying not to snicker. The youngest looking one even halted for a moment. Yuffie, for her part, looked as clueless as possible, while she watched Vincent's back in front of her straighten up and his stance become unmistakably rigid. And then he turned a little, feral eyes narrowed in an 'I want to slash you in two and make barbecue rolls with your fingers' look.

She could finally sympathize with all the monsters which had the extreme misfortune of meeting Mr. Vincent Valentine, formerly of the Turks, currently Princess Ridicule.

"If you're wondering what that smell is, let me clarify that I had nothing, absolutely _nothing_, to do with it," she mumbled. "And, uh, you're probably right; they should brand me 'bad for old, vampire-like gunslingers' reputation' and lock me away in a prison in Corel - but could you turn the laser eyes off, please? I think we'll be able to play Catch with my pretty little head in a bit if you don't stop that."

She saw his eyes soften momentarily with a sparkle of mirth and then harden again, as the leader of the imperial guards prepared to speak. He was a rather short man, in his early forties perhaps, with very short, chestnut hair and restless eyes, Yuffie noticed. He looked quite uncomfortable and the ninja suddenly had a visualization of him fiddling with a leaf from the wild gardenia next to his foot and trying to find a way to tell his mom that he broke the vase. Alas, instead of fulfilling her fantasy, he cleared his throat and tightened his hold on his pike.

"Miss Kisaragi, your father wishes me to accompany you and your companion to the pagoda; it'd be for the best if you followed me willingly."

She really hated her father, oh yes, she did. He was always seeking ways to remind her who was in power.

Yuffie opened her mouth to reply, but Vincent cut in, throwing a warning look her way.

"We'll follow."

It was what they were there for, after all.

Not that this tiny fact was enough to lighten her mood as she dragged herself to the impressive building, occasionally glaring at the members of her entourage. But when the twin doors opened with a creak and she came face to face with the tired and gloomy expression on her father's smug face, the entire database of her mind was erased temporarily, except for one thing.

She had a fight to win.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Here it is, a plot-filled chapter for you as a Christmas present! It has been almost ready for quite some time now but I had no computer this month and lots of things to do (I still do actually...) so I only managed to post it today. **Many thanks to Novocain for beta ****-****reading!**

I hope you enjoy it and please leave me a review! It is the best Christmas present for me. :-)

Chapter 12

Locked Horns- Part Two

Once she had unceremoniously launched herself inside the pagoda and the old odors and sounds had breached her senses and subsequently reached her brain, time decided to change like the white of an egg thrown into a hot frying pan.

It twisted and turned, hitting her with flashes of old conversations and various images from her early adolescence. _Flash._ There he is, her father, pride in his eyes as his daughter hits the eye of the target for the first time while using her throwing knives blindfolded. _Flash._A sharp pain on her left shoulder, a sword falling on the grass soundlessly, bitter laughter, her father turning his backing and walking away. _Flash._Heat. Somewhere in the jungle of Gongaga, heat and the knowledge that she has to return with something valuable, rare materia preferably. Mud and tons of those godforsaken mosquitoes. Oily hair, no more clean underwear and wet socks which all form a killer combo that leads to extreme annoyance and long vendettas against anything that walks, swims, runs, flies or crawls around her. _Flash._New wrinkles of age and countless of worry on his already weathered face as she falls exhausted and bloodied on the stairs of the palace...

_**Dang!**_

Yuffie mentally slammed the door to her memories and waved goodbye at the warm jolt of compassion she had began to feel towards her father.

Her gaze hardened once more. Time bended at her will and started flowing again like a rivulet in winter.

The place was ancient and dusty but still quite majestic. It suited her father perfectly. He, too, was the king of a fallen empire which had recently gone through a Renaissance of sorts. Truth be told, even though the boat might have been upgraded, the captain was still the same and he had absolutely no idea what all that brand new, high tech electronic junk was about. Godo was older than ever, grayer than ever, and as imposing as ever.

"Daughter." His voice was a deep, broken rumble.

"Father." Yikes. Adolescent Barbie meets pop singer on crack. She really had to work on her voice's intimidation ability.

"Welcome back," he said slowly, almost slurring at the end to emphasize his point, that being the fact of her absence while she should be... well, _present._

"Ya, thanks."

Yuffie looked around the small room indifferently, her eyes resting a little longer on her father's ridiculously worn armchair.

"Yuffie, would you and your companion like to **sit**, perhaps?" _Sit down, peasants._ "I'm convinced you travelled all the way to your hometown for a reason, which apparently is not because you missed your father," Lord Godo said meekly. Yuffie didn't fail to notice his tight grip on the armchair.

_Thou shalt pay, ungrateful daughter._

The ninja pursed her lips at her own commentary, totally ignoring her father's request that she and Vincent sat down. Come to think about it, Yuffie had completely forgotten about Vincent. She turned around and saw him standing still and quiet behind her. '_Good,'_ she thought. The gear was in position, the verbal attack weapon (her tongue) was armed and ready for FIR-

"Who is this man, Yuffie? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Ah, yes. Pardon my negigence, no, nelgigance, no, no, neg- AGGGH!"

"...Negligence," said Vincent slowly from the corner he had moved to.

"Yeah, I know. I was just testing you. Stupid vampy, when will you realize that I'm just pretending to be clueless?! Tsk. Anyway, Dad, this is Vincent Valentine. Old comrade. He helped me save the world. Just a little, mind you."

Lord Godo nodded curtly and raised his eyebrow. "I see," he said coldly. "And he is here with you because...?"

Yuffie's roundish, soft face contorted in mock shame. Her eyes fell to the ground and so she missed Vincent's obvious yet mild display of curiosity.

"Father, I believe... I'm afraid... that I am _pregnant with this man's child_!" she shouted the last few words mournfully, clutching her flat abdomen as if to say _'Here it is, the little bastard!' _She pointed at Vincent in accusation and tried to hide a very guilty grin behind her hand, making it look like she was on the verge of tears.

The desired effects on her father showed immediately. Lord Godo changed several colors, including bright orange and faint lilac. His Adam's apple went up and down a couple of times as he swallowed hard, and the worst of all was the look of fiery disdain and boiling anger deep inside him. He opened his mouth to express all that with a variety of long forgotten Wutaian curses, but in his passion he forgot how to do so properly and so he was thrown into one hell of a coughing fit.

In the meantime, the mischievous young woman was about to be taken by surprise herself. Instead of seeing an equally horrified Vincent, she saw a somewhat shocked and quite amused Vincent. In fact, she was starting to wonder whether she should be worried when her father recovered enough to spit a tortured and hoarse "**What?**"

When Vincent replied "Lord Godo, your daughter is not being honest with you. There is no such possibility." Yuffie relaxed. Vincent was getting little by little out of his shell, that was all. However, when he devilishly added, "We have been careful not to allow any mishaps of that kind to happen," the eighteen year old felt her jaw drop a little and her cheeks flame up.

Hearing something like this from Vincent's mouth was, firstly, totally unexpected; secondly, totally different than when she was saying it; thirdly, totally sexy. It's not everyday that you have Mister V. V. suggesting he's had sex with you. In front of your father.

That old weird vampire must have been lighting up torches when he got within a two foot perimeter from them in his youth.

She snapped out of it. It was time to fix this and wipe that veiled smirk-thing from VV's mouth.

"Okay. Vincent is joking, Dad. I'm joking too. Haha! See? Joke. Don't kill yourself. Not before I ask you about this little marriage you arranged with a certain ShinRa president. Care to explain?" Yuffie took a step forward and gripped her head ribbon in annoyance. The stupid thing always managed to get in her eyes. She blew a strand of hair out of her left cheek.

Godo took a deep breath and exhaled calmly. His eyebrows were a perfect line, his stance reflected nothing.

"What about it?" he asked.

"You must be joking. That company was until recently a hated enemy! They brought us down, Dad. They destroyed us, squeezed our pride and strength out of us... How - just _how_ can you do this? Erase all that and arrange a marriage! Involving your own daughter! Without asking ME!"

Godo stood up. The soft sound of his hem against the dark wooden floor was all that could be heard as he approached the girl under the foreigner's watchful eye. Secretly, Godo was unnerved by the presence of this stranger. He seemed sharp. Vigilant. Dangerous for the success of what he had in mind.

"Yuffie," he said neutrally. "Yuffie, my daughter. I have been ruling this land for many years before you were even brought into this world. I admit that during these long winters I've been mistaken in my judgment several times. I am the first to admit that and one of the few in my position who ever did so. But I have never -_never -_betrayed my people." Yuffie felt his pride as he said that. His hand landed heavily on her shoulder and Godo shook her lightly. "Don't you ever accuse me of intending to do you harm," he said intently.

The girl bit her lip."What's all of it for then?"

"Wutai is dying. We need their financial support."

"Lie!" the ninja exploded. "Wutai is stronger than it has been in years! You are such a liar, Father! No wonder you made me just like you." She was heaving.

"Stop. I know better than you, child. We are powerless." His voice was raised.

"What about materia? All these treasures I've been collecting for years?" she asked desperately.

"Useless, I'm afraid. Perhaps they would have been of some help in the hands of a group of experienced casters but that is no foundation to build an empire on. That's an emergency weapon. They are hardly worth any gil in the market, either. People don't buy materia when they are sure that the storm has passed and the sky will be clear from clouds for a long time... "

"All this time that I've spent in the wild collecting..." Her whisper broke. She was crestfallen.

"That's why I'm asking you to help save our country," said her father, trying to look sympathetic.

"How can you ask this of me?"

_'How can you ask this of her?'_ the silent stranger questioned with his harsh gaze the older looking but in reality younger man.

"It is your duty as the princess of Wutai. It's what you've been raised for - the good of your people and the prosperity of-"

"NO!" Yuffie's eyes were watering fast. "Don't do this, Father, please."

"It's what your mother would have done," he pressed on adamantly.

"No, that is not true! Mother always talked to me about love. At night, she was telling me stories of princesses who married out of _love,_ not duty! No, no, no! This will ruin me, Father, do you understand? It will eat me from the inside out until there is nothing left of me._Please._"

She tried to catch his hand but he pushed her away. He suddenly looked livid.

"Look at that. A proud Wutaian princess _begging_ to avoid her duty!" he barked. "Your mother **chose** duty over love. You think I didn't know she was infatuated with some meaningless farmer boy when I asked her hand from her parents? Oh, you didn't know that your mother's marriage was arranged, did you?"

Yuffie felt dizzy.

"But she was always so affectionate towards you... So loving..." she uttered.

Lord Godo's eyes glinted.

"Mmm... The perfect wife, yes, she was! She knew her duty well. She was a good Wutaian woman, something that you will never be unless you stop thinking only about yourself and- _don't you DARE fall on your knees!_" He was about to lose control and grab the sobbing figure who was losing her balance when Vincent's deep voice echoed sharp like a knife in the room.

"_**Enough.**_"

Lord Godo narrowed his eyes. Brown met crimson. The Wutaian Lord would have told the gunman that this was none of his business if something threatening in those crimson pools hadn't made him stop. In the tense silence that ensued, Yuffie pressed her hands on her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs. Her short black mane of hair fell on her face as she crouched on the floor, sitting on her shoes. _Kneeling_, as her father had said.

She was torn deeply. Honor or freedom? Freedom or honor? What torture this was... What torture. How could she get out of this and get up, whole again? How could she choose?

_'Mother...'_

She thought about everything that Godo had said. So her mother had been a victim too? Then perhaps...perhaps she could lift that cross as well. She could be like her mother. She whimpered as soon as that thought crossed her mind, because she knew that she had made her decision, if there ever was one.

Numbly, she got up.

"I will be like my mother," she said simply. She avoided to look in a specific corner of the room as she said that. She was afraid that her determination would crumble as soon as she laid eyes on the handsome man who would be from then on a lost hope and the symbol of all such lost hopes.

She had to get through that thick skull of hers that she was no longer allowed to dream of a warm embrace and passion at night but of forced smiles and pretended pleasure.

_'How did you do it, Mother? I wish you had at least told me your secret.'_

"Splendid. You made the right decision. I am proud to be your father, Yuffie. Tseng is an honorable man and I'm sure he will treat you the best way possible."

Inward snort.

She was in a haze. She felt Godo's arms embrace her and her tired mind registered how weak he was becoming. Momentarily, she thought that for some reason her father was trembling, but quickly she discarded that as a pure creation of her imagination. Godo had no reason to tremble. He was pleased.

Very pleased.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." she said tonelessly like a robot.

"Of course. Go get some rest." Lord Godo graced her with a small smile. "It has been a tiring day."

The next few seconds Vincent watched her struggle not to drag her feet or wipe her eyes as she opened the door (the ray of light made him squint a little) and left the building, her head held high.

She tripped the moment she stepped out of the door.

_Ah, Yuffie. _

He grinned bitterly under his cloak. When the door closed with a thud, he faced her father coolly.

"What are you playing at?" he asked as naturally as if he had just inquired on the weather.

"Excuse me?" Lord Godo collapsed on his armchair. He wiped some of the sweat on his brow with a white, embroidered with gold handkerchief.

"Today you lied to her. Why?"

Godo was too wasted to argue.

"Even I don't know the entire truth on this matter. But she has to marry that Turk, Mister Valentine. Trust me on this. It wasn't easy for me either," he blurted out. "But I love my daughter and I love my country, so I had to do this."

"Wutai is not powerless. ShinRa wouldn't want a powerless kingdom. Why are you doing this?"

"You're not listening. It's for her own good."

"Are you suggesting she's in danger?" Vincent asked quickly.

"I- Mister Valentine, there was nothing I could do about this and neither can you. Yuffie mustn't know about this. She is so rush she could endanger herself by doing something stupid. Do not try to change her mind. This is the only safe path," said Godo, cornered for good.

"Hn. She could always run away."

Lord Godo nodded.

"But that would be the end of her."

Vincent walked towards the exit.

"I am not convinced, but Yuffie shall not know. I will, however, be watching this matter closely."

"Mr. Tseng is coming tomorrow. He truly is an honorable Turk." Vincent didn't bother to inform him that the one excluded the other. "You are welcome to stay, Mr. Valentine. I will have a room prepared for you. I think that it will be best for Yuffie to have one of her friends close by when she meets him and goes with him on the customary stroll around the gardens to get to know each other tomorrow."

Vincent furrowed his eyebrows.

"If I am not mistaken, according to protocol there must be someone to watch over the young couple, correct?"

"Why, yes, but this tradition has been overloo-"

"It is settled then," said the gunman with a controlled upturning motion of his lips that could be easily characterized as _scary_.

* * *

From a window somewhere at the upper floor of the palace, a young woman watched Vincent Valentine exit the temple smoothly, the sun making funny reflections on his long, dark hair. 

She yanked at her own hair aggressively with her _royal_ hairbrush. Hmph. She could marry the ShinRa lackey but she could not control the heat in her body when she saw the gunman.

She didn't want to either.

Thus, Yuffie realized that she would marry Tseng, but she wouldn't give him everything. She could be like her mother without _becoming_ her mother.

She didn't have to be nice. An evil grin sprawled on her face.

Her future husband would suffer.

She'd make sure of that. Oh yes, she would.


End file.
